Kingdom Hearts: Light Foolish Darkness
by Pete the Rock
Summary: A mysterious fog, a swarm of Heartless and Ash carrying a keyblade sends him and Pikachu to Traverse Town. Asking if I should do a series of animes or stick with Disney. Rated for violence.
1. Key Beginnings

_Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon or Kingdom Hearts. There! I'm doing it! Happy?_

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_Summary: A mysterious fog, a swarm of Heartless and Ash carrying a keyblade sends him and Pikachu to Traverse Town. Asking if I should do a series of animes or stick with Disney._

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_**Kingdom Hearts: Light Foolish Darkness**_

_****Chapter 1: Key Beginnings_

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Black. Nothing but black. Left, right, up, down...everywhere you would turn, there was black. A raven-haired boy wearing a black t-shirt having a yellow stripe across the chest and jeans frantically looking for something. No matter where he looked, nothing...not a fragment to see._ "You!"_ a voice echoed. The boy searched for the voice...still, nothing. _"You must be the one to save all the worlds!"_ Yeesh, the first paragraph and already the quest had been determined.

"Me?" the boy asked.

"_Yes! You are now our last hope in finding King Mickey from the darkness. Riku and I have been defeated and our hearts consumed. The only one who can help us is you."_ Names mentioned, the boy had no idea what to do, less know who they were.

"Wait! Who are you and why are you giving me this?!"

"_Because I am a prisoner of the darkness. In my last act, Goofy and Donald were spared. Once found, they can help you find all of us and protect her."_ That's one way to leave a suspenseful start.

"Her? Who?!" The boy never got a response. Instead, a crash from behind. A black door with red outlines appeared. The door was in the shape of a heart with red lines in the form of an "X" and thorns protruding out. The door opened, blasting the boy with a blinding light. He shielded his head with his arms as the light consumed him. He let out a scream. Finally...he woke and sat up in a snap. Sweat from his head flew off, clearing the blanket he slept in. His breathing labored for a while. After a few breaths, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

("You okay, Ash?") squeaked someone...or something. That was a yellow mouse with a tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. The boy, Ash, palmed his face in anguish and confusion.

"That was one heck of a dream." The mouse leaped on to the bed to make sure Ash was okay.

("What was the dream?") Ash couldn't really make out the dream.

"It was black, Pikachu. Just black. Then a voice..." Pikachu wondered about the voice and what it said.

("There was a voice? What did it talk about?") Ash thought back to what he heard.

"Something about saving all the worlds, a King Mickey, darkness..." It was all jumbled. The clasp of his head told Ash's frustration. So much information to discuss but no starting point.

("I knew it was a bad idea to start our trip to Hoenn after Johto! Other than Misty and Brock, I'm the one in charge but you don't listen to me, even though we're friends.") Ash wondered about the last thing the voice brought up.

"Who was that guy trying to say about her?" Pikachu listened, now intent on this last piece.

("Who? What do you mean?") Ash hopped out of bed and stepped out, the sun slowly rising from the ocean as wakes spread beneath the moving surface that was a ferry ride. Not easy to wake up at the crack of dawn. Ash took a deep breath.

"We'll be there tomorrow. Can't wait to start our new journey." He strolled to the front of the ferry and stared out starboard. The start of a new day would be welcomed to Ash but that dream held his thoughts back. 'King Mickey...Goofy...Donald...Riku...but, who's her? And why do I have to get involved in it?' Lingering questions. A blue muscled human-like creature with tiny head-fins and a pair of black shorts palmed Ash on the shoulder. Ash turned to see the muscled giant.

("Seasick?") it asked. Ash smiled up to the giant.

"I'm okay, Machoke." The creature backed off before a man in a white sailor uniform approached.

"Huh!" he huffed. "Someone was anxious to see the sunrise. Can't wait until landfall?" The sailor softly chuckled but Ash didn't crack a smile. He was more annoyed by the dream than he was feeling ready for the new adventure.

"I don't know now. I mean the dream I had..." The sailor and Machoke glared at each other for a second before turning back to Ash.

"Something tells me this was more of a nightmare." You could tell that the sailor didn't want to push the detail out of him. "Tell you what, I'll brew up some tea for you to relax." A little tea wouldn't hurt.

"Sure." On that note, the sailor made his way back inside.

"Okay. Come on, Machoke!" Machoke followed his owner wince it came. Pikachu joined up with Ash, fearing what Machoke did to him.

"Don't worry, Pikachu. They were just checking up on me." Pikachu let out a heavy sigh. Ash's mind still focused itself on that dream. He'll need to focus on what came by. Pikachu sensed something coming from port and dashed to it. Ash followed suit and spotted a black cloud skimming the ocean surface...and heading right for the ferry. The two stood, awed at such a fast-moving cloud about to strike. "We gotta warn the captain!"

("Right!") Pikachu agreed. They raced to get inside the ferry and out of danger, but the cloud moved too fast and coated the door. The cloud consumed the deck as well as Ash and Pikachu. They covered themselves trying to keep the clouds from entering their lungs. It turned out unnecessary. The cloud wasn't toxic.

"We're okay?" A thick patch floated past. Ash combed it, the cloud broken on touch. Panic over nothing...only too soon to assume.

("Company!") Ash looked toward Pikachu's direction. A patch of the cloud grounded itself into a pool of black. The pool began to morph itself into black ants. These ants had eerie glowing yellow eyes. A curious Ash had a hunch.

"What kind of Pokémon are they?" Pikachu had doubts and fear that they weren't creatures they familiarized to know.

("I don't think they're Pokémon!") The ants pounced. An attack.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu squeezed its red cheeks and emitted an enormous amount of electricity, snuffing out a great portion of the attackers. "All right!" Too soon to celebrate. More ants formed from the pool. "Uh oh!"

("There's more!") These ants scuttled the deck for an attack at the knees.

"Again!" Pikachu launched another stream of electricity, blowing out the ants like birthday candles. The stream hit the pool but didn't do a thing. This wasn't good at all. Even worse, more ants enveloped.

("Thunderbolt's not doing a thing!") Ash began to wonder what he needed to do. If Thunderbolt wasn't working, what then?

"Talk about a bad time to leave my Pokémon with Prof. Oak." More made the charge. Ash had to think and fast. "Run!" No more facing these creatures. They ran to the emergency boats, trying to find leverage. Ash and Pikachu couldn't catch a break. An entire swarm surrounded Ash and Pikachu. They looked at doom. Ash used his arms to shield himself from the onslaught. Finally, a voice...

"_Attack and free the hearts," _the voice from the dream ordered. Attack? That's what he's been doing with Pikachu and it wasn't working.

"How? They keep coming!" The ants were inches away.

"_SWING!"_ Ash closed his eyes and swung his arms out. In a blinding flash, ants were carved in half and jeweled hearts knocked out of them which rose above the cloud. Pikachu saw Ash fling his arm out but shocked himself with how Ash was able to destroy them when his Thunderbolt attack did nothing. Ash opened his eyes and viewed the swarm standing petrified. That's when Ash felt some weight on his arm. Screening his head, he saw a giant key-like baton with a gold hilt. Wait...keys don't have hilts, right? How did this key emerge? And why did he have something like this? He waved the key over the swarm, the ants stepping back. This befuddled Ash.

"These things are afraid of a key?" Something didn't fit right for Ash. That much he's sure about. Still, this was a perfect opportunity to stop these ants. "Ready, Pikachu?" New found confidence told Pikachu that Ash wasn't holding back. Now the tables were turned as Ash led the charge and swiped at the ants, all sliced up and hearts flying above. Ash needed to concentrate on the pool. An idea. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt on the key!" Pikachu gawked at the idea. Ash was risking injury by having Pikachu strike him with electricity. It was a pretty big risk but if Ash was willing to take this chance, no point in arguing. Pikachu fired another Thunderbolt as the said key became a lightning rod, absorbing the electricity. Crazy enough, Ash wasn't affected. Now the key's charged up, Ash charged in and leaped over the ants who pursued. He struck down everything, reaching the pool off of one's head. Acting as if the pool was one big keyhole, Ash shoved the electrified key in the center. The result was an explosive one as the pool blew up, taking the ants, Ash and Pikachu within it. The black cloud dispersed from the explosion...but everything in it vanished. Even an emergency boat disappeared. The sailor and Machoke reemerged, finding nothing, not even damage to the deck.

"Wait...where's Ash?" he asked. "Even that black cloud's evaporated!" Nothing made sense to him or his muscled creature. It would make less sense when Ash and Pikachu would wake up in the boat they accidentally absconded. Their boat floated their unconscious bodies to a dock in the night. The dock bordered a town with black walls. It would not be the adventure they wanted to experience but one they were forced to enter.

"Hm, a new keyblade master?" an older woman spoke. The woman, on the roof of buildings within the town, had eerie green skin under a black cloak. Her headgear had long, twisted horns and she carried a staff with a violet jewel embedded. "Interesting. And with that mouse on hand, this could be a wild challenge." With a wave of her cape, she disappeared. She didn't seem like someone who would support him. Then again, a giant goldfish-shaped submarine surfaced. The hatch on the top opened, revealing two adult humans and a whitish cat with a gold oval coin protruding out.

"This isn't the way to the Hoenn Region, twerp!" snarled the redhead. Oh, he's to blame? The woman had wavy blood-red hair. She wore a white mid-drift shirt with a red 'R' on it, white skirt and black thigh-high boots.

"You think that black cloud may have disoriented him?" mewed the cat. "I mean, who knows what was in it to begin with." An intrigued blue-haired man had a feeling the cat was on to something. He had dampened blue hair. He donned a white uniform with that same red 'R' on it.

"Yeah, I think we lucked out from whatever that cloud contained, Meowth," he agreed. The redhead smirked.

"Well, now..." she grinned. "This is the perfect opportunity to capture Pikachu and leave the twerp in the dust." The two "men" agreed before submerging back underwater. They did close the hatch so no water in the sub. Ash and Pikachu have more problems than simply not going to the Hoenn Region. So many questions to ask. What are they and how many will be answered next time?

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TO BE CONTINUED... (Okay, I did hint on Disney characters a bit but will that be the theme or do you want Ash and Pikachu doing anime worlds? Like to hear your opinions.)


	2. Feeling Goofy, Don-ald in Darkness

_Author's Notes: This is a gust of wind of a new direction. Thank you all for the feedback and suggestions to actually do both Anime and Disney worlds. I won't start traveling to different worlds until Chapter 4 but some insight on where to go for Ash, Goofy, Donald and Pikachu would be greatly appreciated. Also, I will include characters from Final Fantasy VI through IX. No way am I including Tidus into this. Okay, enough rambling...let's continue._

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_Chapter 2: Feeling Goofy, Don-ald in Darkness_

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All Ash and Pikachu had to do was ride the ferry to the Hoenn Region. That's it! That should have been so easy, they could literally sleep their way through the ocean to reach the new adventure...but no! A swarm of black ants terrorized the ferry they rode on and Ash acquired a key he swung around like a baseball bat...with surprising results. Now instead of starting their new quest in their designated region, they're at the docks of a town with no sunlight...and it's 9:00 AM. The emergency boat softly crashed in to the wooden docks, stirring the two occupants. Shaking the cobwebs, a moaning Ash sat up and spun his head to the black town. Something didn't feel right to him. "We're here?" he murmured. He tried to stand but fell back down due to how unbalanced the smaller boat was. That's when he saw the darkness the town showed. "Okay, this is not the Hoenn Region. And it's also night."

("Yeah, didn't we just wake up?") Pikachu asked. Regardless about what happened to have them thrown off the ferry, Ash hopped off the boat and onto land.

"I think our new league will have to be put on hold. Too much weird stuff going on." The two entered, unaware of two villainous factions inside. In the town only brightened by streetlights, a young brunette man in a black leather coat and black pants sensed something. He peered out the window where he stood next to.

"He's here?" he muttered. "Already?" The alert caught the attention of a young ponytail brunette woman in a pink gown over an open red coat.

"What's wrong, Squall?" she asked. Squall turned to the woman with a groan painting his face.

"It's Leon, not Squall." Squall- Sorry, Leon peered back out the window. "The new keyblade user has arrived in Traverse Town. No doubt gonna help us find Sora." Was that the weapon Ash used on the ants?

"Are you sure? I mean, the Heartless are becoming more vicious everywhere Sora journeyed to. Not to mention that Locke and Zidane sensed Maleficent lurking in town." They apparently weren't aware of some others looking to make chaos.

"If he's the one, he should meet up with Donald and Goofy soon." Leon wasn't satisfied for some reason. There's help and there's harm crawling around the town. The woman thought of something else.

"Leon, Tifa did step out. She didn't want to be cooped up waiting for the new keyblade master to find us or Donald and Goofy." The news didn't alter his facial mood.

"Funny, Aerith... In all her impatience, I believed she wanted to stow away to the Olympus Coliseum to find Cloud. I would've wanted Yuffie to go find him." And you're not going to do anything about it? Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu entered the town with only the clothes and fur on their backs...and the key in Ash's hand.

"So, why was I given a weapon out of midair?" he asked. "I mean...we come from a land where violence is left to the Pokémon." Man, aren't you being harsh.

("Are you saying I'm violent?") Pikachu asked for clarification. Ash didn't answer. Instead, they were met with more ants and midget-like creatures wearing metal helmets fitted with spike on top. On the midsection was a heart similar to what Ash saw in the dream.

"Hold on... that mark... I saw it in my dream!" No time to reminisce. The things charged at Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu fired his Thunderbolt, nailing and extinguishing the smaller attackers. Ash swung his key at those a little larger, knocking more hearts out of them. A minute later, all were gone. This allowed Ash and Pikachu to move ahead. "As if it wasn't enough back on the ferry...I think this town's a little cursed." A little while after the two beat that group of dark beings, a voice rang in Ash's head.

"_Welcome to Traverse Town, young man," _the sound of an old man, not the same voice from before, spoke. Ash didn't recognize the new voice talking to him. Heck, he didn't recognize the earlier voice helping him fight the ants before. Ash looked around but saw nothing.

"Who's there?" Pikachu looked over to Ash, wondering who he was talking to.

("Ash, what are you doing?") he squeaked.

"Someone's talking to me...in my head." The voice realized that Ash wasn't alone.

"_You have company, huh?" _the voice noticed. _"Have him in contact so I can talk to him, too."_ Ash motioned his arm, allowing Pikachu to crawl up to his shoulder. _"Now can the other one hear me?" _Pikachu became shocked. He was now hearing the voice along Ash.

("Who are you?") he asked. The voice hesitated to reply. A new language?

"_Hm...this language is not one I recognize. When I meet you at my workshop, I'll find out about your language to aid communication. However, there are troubles hanging around you and it's not just the Heartless."_ The name given to Ash started to make him think about what he face.

"Wait...you mean those black things that attacked me and Pikachu on the ferry?" he referred back to the start.

"_Those were minor Heartless. They come in different sizes and shapes. But they're not the only ones to keep out of sight from. I sense a group of troublemakers who came from the same world you emerged from."_ Pikachu figured who it was from the warning.

("How far will Team Rocket go to take me in?") he groaned. Hearing that Team Rocket had joined Ash and Pikachu, he shook his head.

"So now, we have the Heartless and the thoughtless," he joked. "If Team Rocket knows a way back, I'm sure they could lend us a ride." That would be, if they were nice and not a warning from the voice in your head. Ash returned his attention to said voice. "So, where's your workshop and what else can you tell me about these Heartless?" Someone sounded anxious.

"_With the Heartless guided by Maleficent and those others after you, revealing my place will prove disastrous," _he advised. The new name, perhaps the ringleader, presented Ash a challenge. He needed to be careful. _"I have sent Tifa to find you so you and your friend will have a safe place to gather the information needed to save everything from the Heartless."_ So, Tifa didn't act out of impatience? Going by the words of the disembodied voice, Ash pressed on ahead, unaware of who else wanted to drop in and it wasn't any of Team Rocket. A dark brunette young woman in black gazed at Ash.

"Wow, he _is_ younger than Sora," she studied. "Can't really believe he's the one with the keyblade now." There's a good chance that's Tifa. She suddenly noticed some others sneaking up behind Ash. It was the trio after Ash's Pikachu, Team Rocket. The dark brunette smirked, a mischievous ploy ready to unfold. "They won't be a factor for long. Merlin employed me to keep an eye on him." She leaped back in hiding as the three spied around corners on their target.

"The twerp and Pikachu are out in the open," the redhead sneered. "All we need to do is pounce before someone else gets involved, grab Pikachu and travel back to headquarters." The blue-haired and the cat heard the plan, glaring flaws popping up.

"Jessie, if we do get the twerp's Pikachu, how do you know we can safely return to Kanto?" he pointed out. "Besides, that strange fog that we subbed our way though isn't there." Jessie wasn't worried about something minor as a way out of Traverse Town, if she knew the town's name.

"Easy, James! If there's a way in, there's a way out!" Jessie proceeded forward with James and the cat not far behind...for a second. A hand reached out and pulled the cat behind the corner. POW! A thwack knocked the cat to sleep...and the dark brunette woman peered around the same corner at the other two.

"Yuffie's not the only ninja around here," she sneered as she paced on after Jessie and James. James got distracted with the many neon signs and lights strewn all over the town. If his head was anymore on a swivel, he would have whiplash. Then again, that could have also spotted the female who snagged him in a headlock, dragged him behind a wall and put him to sleep, cutting off circulation to his head. The woman laid him down. "Two down, one more to go." She chased Jessie who was completely clueless to her lack of teammate support. She was just behind Ash, also clueless of where to go. That voice either has a bad time guiding him or it was quiet.

"It's time for you to surrender your Pikachu, twerp!" Jessie kept her laugh quiet. When she turned to her teammates...the woman was there in their place. Jessie thought it was someone who wanted to know what she was doing watching a kid and mouse, no thought that this woman neutralized her partners. "Move it, sister. This is Team Rocket business." As if she didn't care that she exposed herself to her executioner, Jessie told her to shove off without a second to realize the issue. The brown eyes darted back the way they came, Jessie finally getting the picture she did something to her crew. The woman even cracked her knuckles while offering an evil grin.

"Say goodnight!" Pikachu heard the voice of the new protector before...PING! POW! BAM! Ash heard the bone-crunching impacts and twisted in time to see Jessie seeing stars as she slammed the ground. Ash and Pikachu were taken back by Jessie's appearance. It was a shock that Team Rocket would even follow Ash and Pikachu.

"Jessie?!" Ash gulped. Seeing the knocked out woman, Ash made the key disappear to thin air and waved his hand over her face. No reaction.

"She won't be getting up for a while." From the bruises and welts on her face...yeah, she got her good. "Same with that cat and the blue-haired doofus." A group of nothing good utterly defeated by one woman...just humiliating.

("James and Meowth were beaten too, huh?") Pikachu cheered. ("I love this girl!") He leaped into her arms with hearts in his eyes.

"Wow, you're awfully friendly for a mouse!" Ash smacked his face in dismay. Why, Pikachu might have been thankful she came by and stopped Team Rocket from taking him.

"Pikachu, I don't need another Brock in my life," he complained. The woman laughed at Ash's fluster.

"It's okay, kid. Aerith is better with animals than I am. Tifa Lockheart, at your service." She offered a hand for a shake, one Ash didn't mind.

"Ash Ketchum." After the shake, Ash had a question for Tifa. "Anyway, I was wondering if you knew where a workshop was in this town." Tifa snapped the same fingers she shook hands just a second ago.

"Oh, you must mean Merlin's workshop. He told me to look for you and get you to a safe place from the Heartless...and them." Jessie came around, mad after getting knocked out by Tifa.

"Excuse me!" she hollered. "But you should know that assaulting a Pokémon trainer is a federal offense that won't be tolerated by the league. I don't care whether or not you're a trainer, you will be arrested for your attack on me!" She reached in her midriff and pulled out a handbook with the title "Laws of the Pokémon World." Wonder what else she keeps in that part of her clothing? Flipping through the book, she stopped in the middle and offered it to Tifa as Pikachu climbed to her shoulder. "Here! Page 123, Section One, Paragraph Four: Physical Conduct on Pokémon Trainers!" Tifa quietly read the part Jessie pointed out. Ash was just as stunned. Ironic that they have a booklet of laws about the world they came from, even though their intention was to take Pikachu.

"Huh! Go figure!" Tifa handed the book to Ash who read it. However, he flipped through the pages and stopped at a different part of the booklet.

"Then perhaps you should practice what you preach," he retorted. "Page 26, Section Two, Paragraph Two: Possession of Pokémon and Trainer." Instead of reading the section, Jessie angrily snatched the booklet from Ash and placed it back by her breasts. "Then again, you should also realize that we're not exactly in the Pokémon World at the moment." Jessie was ready to make a comeback but had a realization. If they're not in their home world, the rules don't necessarily apply now.

"Now what were you saying about assaulting a trainer in Traverse Town?" If Jessie knew what's good for her, she'd peddle her legs out of this town and forget about Pikachu. Actually, she stopped thinking altogether and stood like a statue. Tifa bashed her from the face to the stomach and all Ash did was tip his cap to shame Jessie and her idiocy. Finally, one throw sent Jessie packing. Let's hope James and Meowth get out of there before more Heartless come to take them. "I knew Zell's teachings could help me." Now with her out-of-the-way, Tifa was ready to get Ash to her friends. "Alright, let's move. Leon's probably wondering where we've been." The invite would be put on hold. Out of nowhere, the Heartless popped up. Most of them were bigger sized ants. "Shadows and Gigas Shadows!" Ash summoned his key and Tifa readied her fists.

"Pikachu and I had our sights set on a new adventure, new Pokémon, new friends. Totally not what I had in mind at all." The group was about to get help. A rain of lightning tagged and snuffed the Heartless until there was none left. Ash and Tifa couldn't believe their luck. Pikachu stood in shock. Those weren't his lightning bolts.

"Looks like I saved our new keyblade master!" someone squawked with a somewhat raspy voice. Ash, Pikachu and Tifa turned to see a grown white duck in a blue robe, cape and wizard's pointy hat. He held a wooden staff upright with his wing. Tifa felt glad that help arrived in the nick of time.

"Thanks, Donald," she praised. That was one of the names from Ash's dream. He never imagined Donald being...a duck? Seriously? Tifa noticed something missing. "Say, where's Goofy?" Donald turned to the side, waiting on someone as well.

"Hey, slow poke! Tifa's with our new partner!"

"Tifa?" another male voice rang out. "Gawrsh! I was wondering who tossed that woman sky-high!" From behind a building, a dog appeared and he stood like a man. He wore a yellow hat, green shirt under a gray vest, slacks and carried a round shield that featured an emblem of a mouse, not Pikachu. Ash looked dumbfounded. "So, you're replacing Sora as the new keyblade master?" There's a name Ash hasn't heard of.

"Sora?" he repeated. Donald wanted to get the dog on the tracks.

"Goofy, he just got here a little while ago," he quacked. "Introduce yourself to him." Ash and Pikachu stepped up.

"So, you're called Goofy, huh?" he repeated Donald as he stuck his hand for a shake.

"Hyuk! That's me," Goofy confirmed and shook Ash's hand. "Sora was the original keyblade wielder until he was defeated by the Heartless." The story began to sink in for Ash as the key came back to him.

"So...this is a keyblade? I knew something was odd about it." Ash stepped to a clearing where he swung a few times. He faced the rest with an urge for information. "Since I'm here to help you out, I want to know everything about why I have a keyblade and what I need to do before I return to my world and continue to become a Pokémon Master." None of the others wanted to argue with Ash. Full cooperation sounded key. Soon, Ash will see Leon, Aerith and whoever else was there. Could their detail help Ash in stopping the Heartless?

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Starting a Final Fantasy

_Chapter 3: Starting a Final Fantasy_

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Ash and Pikachu were thankful to run into Tifa. She neutralized Team Rocket and threw Jessie like a javelin. She should try out for the Olympics in Rio. They, along with Donald and Goofy, entered the hideout occupied by Leon and Aerith. "You have a problem with ducks and dogs working together?" Donald quacked at Ash.

"No, I just find it hard to believe that you're walking, talking animals, let alone those helping Sora," Ash tried to correct. "Not to mention that this King Mickey I heard in my dream is a mouse like Pikachu." What about that cat that was with Team Rocket? Donald stopped by the doorway with his wings tucked away in disgust.

"Phooey! He needs to get out more often." Ash and Tifa came forward to meet Leon.

"So, you must be the new keyblade wielder," he addressed. "With Malificent running amok, we need all the help we can get. I'm Leon and this is Aerith." The brunette young woman came forward, extending a hand.

"Hello there," she greeted. Seeing the hand, Ash clasped and shook it with his own. "It's nice to meet the new holder of the keyblade. Who might you be?"

"It's Ash Ketchum," he introduced himself. Pikachu hopped from Tifa's shoulder onto Ash's head. "And my Pokémon friend, Pikachu." Pikachu flashed a peace sign, his introduction. Aerith got excited about Pikachu, even snagging him from the cap.

"You're adorable!" Seeing how much Aerith held Pikachu, Ash realized what Tifa meant after she stopped Team Rocket.

("I'm being loved!") Pikachu squeaked. Apparently, he's forgotten what Ash said when Tifa entered just after knocking Jessie senseless. Leon wanted to return to the subject.

"So, how did you acquire the keyblade?" he questioned Ash. The new holder tried to recall what happened to have the keyblade in his hands.

"Honestly, I don't know," he shrugged. "I found myself surrounded by Heartless before I heard a voice telling me to swing my arm out. When I did, the keyblade was in my hands and I fought back against them." Leon looked disturbed. Something didn't quite fit.

"Interesting... This voice..." He may be asking about the voice's gender. "Was it a man?" Ash thought back once more.

"Not quite man but a boy's voice." The pieces of this puzzle were now fitting to create a picture.

"Just as I feared. Sora reached out for someone and found you to be his successor. Do you have any formal training?" Ash shook his head. Leon had an issue on his mind. "We have a problem. And with Cloud and Zidane in other worlds, I may be the only one to properly train you." How ironic that a trainer was going under training.

"No problem! I can learn pretty fast." Hearing his confidence told Leon that he was ready.

"Then let's step out." Everyone followed Ash and Leon out to the streets. Donald, Goofy and Pikachu stood behind Ash who brought out his keyblade. "Alright, you have Sora's keyblade. Let me draw out mine." He unsheathed what looked to be a mix of a sword and a revolver. That's a weird sword design.

"What in the world is that?" Tifa chose to help Ash on that.

"He's got a gunblade," she clarified. Leon pointed the giant steel blade at Ash, now with padding on the blade. Preventing any wounds?

"Ready?" Leon asked. A nod from Ash brought the spar to a start. Ash raced in, the keyblade's prongs over his head and holding the weapon like a baseball bat. "Rookie..." Ash swung the keyblade but was blocked by the revolver part of the gunblade. Leon effortlessly shooed Ash away from such a beginner's attack. "Don't come charging in like you have a club and want to bash heads in. Keep your weapon concealed until you can get a clean strike." Easy for him to say, that keyblade's about as big as Ash is.

"So...like this?" he asked as he ran back at Leon, his weapon lower and the prongs nearly touching the ground. He swung at the same area but used the other side of the blade, striking the padding. Leon realized Ash swung backwards and noticed something more when Ash pulled his blade off and spun his body and keyblade for an overhead strike. Leon rose his gunblade in time to block the attack. Ash was a little upset. Returning to his corner, Leon lowered his blade.

"Not bad! Using the back of the keyblade to gather force for that attack...you have potential." Ash smiled and raced back in again. This time, Leon didn't want to hold back. The flurry of swinging steel was fast and furious. Suddenly, an upswing from Ash fired a tiny fireball to the sky. He saw the fireball and leaped after it. One chopping swing nailed the fireball which broke and rained on Leon. The opponent saw the rain of fire, covering up while the flames plummeted on top of him. Even after the rain of fire stopped, everyone awed at the ability Ash performed.

("Was that Ember?!") Pikachu squeaked in shock, oddly not his own.

"Whoa!" Tifa gasped. "Did he use magic? And combine it?!" What magic was it? Someone would answer but it wasn't from the crowd.

"That's Sora's magic he learned in the memory of the keyblade," an old man spoke out. All turned to the voice, an aged man in a pointy blue hat, blue robe and long beard. He also wore tiny circular glasses. Donald quacked at who the oldie was.

"It's Merlin!" he gawked. This was the one who told Ash about the situation at hand. Still, this was an odd way of seeing who was calling out to him.

"You're Merlin?" he asked to verify. Merlin scoffed at the puzzled look on Ash's face.

"I could have waited for you at my workshop but when I saw that Fire, I had to come by and make sure," he explained. When he reached Ash and saw the keyblade, Merlin waived his hand over the weapon. "Sora's memories are infused into the keyblade and it's slowly recognizing the new wielder. Soon enough, the spells like Blizzard, Thunder, Aero and Cure will return to the blade and help him." Who knew there was so much power within the keyblade. "Somehow, you have the ability to combine magic with basic attacks, creating maneuvers capable of mesmerizing the Heartless." A scary technique and one Ash couldn't wait to unleash.

("Is the keyblade that powerful?") Pikachu wondered. Merlin heard Pikachu, finally seeing the mouse for the first time.

"So you're the company of the new keyblade master." Merlin placed his hand between the ears of the Pokémon, glowing blue.

("This is strange...") A minute later, Merlin removed his hand. Pikachu shook off the palming to get his mind straight about what just happened.

"You and this boy have gone through a lot together. Indeed you are the pride of him." Pikachu felt humbled to receive this praise by Merlin.

"Well, thank you very..." Pikachu...spoke human? This sudden and new item for him freaked the poor mouse out of his fur. "Wait a minute! I'm talking human!" Usually, that's a good thing. Pikachu wasn't ready for such a transformation of his voice. "What did you do to me?!" Merlin wasn't ashamed by what he did.

"I just used a spell to help understand animals. The spell can be removed by my hands. However, it's my method you to know you better." Ash didn't really like the way Merlin manipulated Pikachu's voice. Still, hearing Pikachu talk like he would could help understand the two even more.

"Okay, but when this is all over, I want my voice back. I don't wanna be the next Meowth." Aerith hoisted the mouse toward her chest, trying to comfort the still shocked rodent.

"There are more talking animals throughout the universe you can talk to," she pointed out. Pikachu had a thought to Aerith's observation. With what could be on his way, his language would confuse everyone on the way.

"I see your point." Something Aerith said triggered a memory from Merlin.

"Thank you for reminding me, Miss Aerith," he praised. This alerted the others into the wonderment of his visit.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"It's the universe. It has expanded since Sora traveled with Goofy and Donald. Along with Wonderland, Agrabah and Hollow Bastion to name a few, new worlds like Port Royale, Mahora and Seireti have emerged with Heartless on the attack." New areas for Goofy and Donald as they're about to team up with Ash and head to find Sora.

"We should make a stop to Destiny Island to see how Kairi's holding up," Goofy suggested. A new name had surfaced for Ash.

"Who's Kairi?" he wondered.

"She's a friend of Sora," Donald replied. "Those two and Rikku grew up on Destiny Island before the Heartless attacked. When we take care of some of the worlds, we'll use the Gummi Ship to take you and Pikachu to see it for yourselves." An island getaway?

"Sounds like a plan." Merlin was satisfied that the keyblade found someone worthy after all. Still, he needed to make sure Ash could do the job.

"Can I...we depend on you to seal the worlds from Malificent and the Heartless?" Merlin questioned. "I don't want Sora to regret providing you the main weapon to someone who can't perform the tasks." This was a tall order. Ash felt that if the Heartless aren't stopped, his world could be next.

"Merlin, I've yet to let anyone down with something like this. I'm not gonna start now." Leon sensed the confidence with Ash and knew he was capable for a mission like this.

"That's an answer I like to hear," he muttered. "Let's head to the hangar." All but Merlin proceeded on when Ash noticed the wizard hanging back.

"What about you, Merlin?" The wizard had a plan of his own.

"I'll continue to search for Sora," he announced. "If anything comes up, I'll contact you on the Gummi Ship." Ash put his faith in Merlin to find the original keyblade wielder.

"Deal. Keep in touch." Ash raced to catch up with the rest. At a hangar, a grown blond man and two chipmunks put the last touches on a huge multicolored vessel with a domed cockpit, guns, missile launchers and boosters. The blond wore a dirty white t-shirt and jeans. One of the two chipmunks had a red nose while the other had black.

"Cid!" Leon called out. The blond turned to the group, a piece of grass sticking out of his mouth.

"Leon, right on time!" Cid smiled. "The Gummi Ship's ready to go." Ash stood forward to see what the Gummi Ship looked like.

"So that's a Gummi Ship?" he surveyed. "I wanna say another word besides impressive..." Cid observed Ash, wondering if this was the new hero of the universe. That's right, He-Man! Take a back seat to this!

"Cid, this is Ash Ketchum," Tifa spoke up. "He'll be going around to fight the Heartless." Cid was skeptical.

"This runt?" he laughed. "Well, if those two are helping him, I got no choice in the matter, do I?" Not necessarily. "Chip, Dale, release the restraints!" The chipmunks slammed a few buttons which let loose the Gummi Ship from the ground in which it began to float. Ash bobbed a nod, ready to go with Pikachu, Goofy and Donald coming from behind. The chipmunks opened a hangar door leading outside. This was it. It's not the adventure Ash wanted but with a universe at risk, he had to take it. The booster engines ignited. The ramp extended out to the night sky.

"All statuses are green!" announced the red-nosed chipmunk.

"All occupants are restrained!" the black-nosed chipmunk reported. "Dale, begin the countdown!"

"10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Blast off!" The Gummi Ship shot out of the hangar like a cannon and zoomed up to space. The mission began.

"So, where do we go first?" Pikachu pondered.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(And this is where you control where Ash, Pikachu, Donald and Goofy go to. I only provided examples but you can put your suggestions along with your review. The world will be decided after my next Soul Calibur chapter.)


	4. No Need to be Pixie, Pixie! Part 1

_A/N: Thanks to your votes, we'll join Genki, Holly and the creatures in Monster Rancher._

* * *

_Chapter 4: No Need to be Pixie, Pixie! Part 1_

* * *

The Gummi Ship zoomed through space, looking for places where Heartless have invaded. Ash, Pikachu, Donald and Goofy watched from the cockpit of the Gummi ship. This wasn't like all the adventures Ash journeyed through in the past. Traveling from world to world... Goofy noticed Ash getting tensed. "A little nervous?" he wondered. Ash heard one of his new traveling partners, concern about his mental state.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered. "I mean, traveling to different worlds to stop the Heartless... How many worlds have you seen recently with Sora?" Goofy dug into his memory bank to remember the times with Sora.

"Honestly, I lost count." Donald shook his head, not quite believing his mutt-faced friend. "I do know it was a lot." Suddenly, a warning blared around the cockpit. Heartless abound.

"What's going on?" Pikachu wondered. Merlin's magic was to blame for Pikachu's change of voice.

"Heartless Alarm," Donald quacked. "It means we're nearby a world!" Looking out, the boys spotted a planet of green with brown plains. Ash wanted to make sure this was a world that needed a cleansing of Heartless.

"What world are we looking at?" he asked. Donald reached down and somehow, pulled up a TV monitor. Cartoon logic at its finest. Information covered the monitor

"It says that the world is called Monster World." Rather generic of them to have such a dull name.

"That's like calling a world of Pokémon, the Pokémon World," Goofy said. Ash glared at Goofy with an "are you serious" look.

"That's...actually what my world's called," he pointed out. Goofy saw the stare, thinking he offended Ash.

"Sorry. I thought it had something different with the name." Ash backed off, a smile covering his irate gaze.

"It's alright. Let's land and see what we know about it. Full speed ahead!" The Gummi Ship zoomed toward the planet and hovered over a grass plain where everyone departed. Now came the search for the Heartless. "Good thing Merlin told me a couple of things about the keyblade before we left Traverse Town." He summoned the keyblade to his hand and pointed the blade out. Slowly, he waived the blade down the roads, unaware that the cat had popped back up again. He watched from the exit of the Gummi Ship as the keyblade started to glow bright. "Okay, we're going down this road." The group started down the road, Goofy armed with the shield and Donald with his wand. The cat, surprisingly not in any worse shape than Jessie and the other guy pummeled by Tifa, leaped off the ride.

"Why is Pikachu speaking human like Meowth?" he muttered. "Not to mention where they're headed." He followed in pursuit. Down the pathway, the group kept their eyes peeled for Heartless. Suddenly, laughter. The laugh sounded from a woman. Pikachu focused his ears, picking up on the origin of the laugh.

"Up there!" he squeaked. Looking up, they spotted a winged human woman flying above. Her hair was pitch black like Ash, going along with the wings, bikini-like outfit and...shin hair. The only things not black were her skin, being pure white, and her horns protruding from her head, having an ivory color.

"You're definitely not from around here," she stated the obvious. "All I was told was to be on the lookout for someone with a giant key." Ash noticed something tattooed to her chest, just above the breasts: the same logo from before.

"Heartless don't normally show up right away, right?" he questioned.

"Not off the bat but it's good to know who we're facing," Donald declined to the insight. The winged woman wasn't phased with the creature lineup, especially Pikachu.

"Thanks to Maleficent," she praised. "I can control the Heartless as she hunts the princesses throughout the universe. Behold!" The swinging of her arms was a summoning of more Shadow and Gigas Shadow Heartless and brought forth new forms like humanoid black creatures which featured twin zig-zag antennae and floating faced orbs with tentacles extending. Only a matter of time before they stopped by. "Now, my soldiers...attack!" The Heartless pounced, Goofy using the shield to defend Donald while Ash swung his keyblade, dispatching Heartless left and right. Pikachu used the floating orbs to attack the winged woman, his cheeks sparking. This woman wanted no part of Pikachu, smashing her red leather tail on the smaller opponent. Pikachu was shot to the ground, breaking the road. Seeing Pikachu's failed attack, Ash got worried.

"Pikachu!" he yelled. Ash couldn't reach Pikachu with the swarm of Heartless blocking his path. Help was also needed for Donald and Goofy.

"Cherry Blossom Blizzard!" a young voice rang out. As they turned to the voice, a flurry of pink petals blew in the faces. This gave Ash the perfect opportunity to check in on Pikachu as he came out of the hole.

"Where did these cherry blossoms come from?" Pikachu asked. When the storm of petals stopped, a pink creature landed. It had green scales from the crown of the head down to the tail and had a bill of a duck, only a lot shorter. "Okay, that's a new creature." The new creature turned to Ash.

"Are you okay, chi?" it wondered. This had to be the one who called out the Cherry Blossom Blizzard attack. Ash nodded, hesitation and confusion flooding his thoughts the second he saw this being. The Heartless regrouped. Can't go easy yet.

"Back for more, huh?" Ash groaned as he rose the keyblade. Before he could start another attack, reinforcements charged in.

"Pixie!" shouted a boy. Rolling in, a boy in a turquoise t-shirt and orange baseball cap raced forward to help Ash and the rest.

"Genki, chi!" the pink thing cheered. The boy wasn't alone as trailing behind contained a tall brown rabbit wearing a red handkerchief, a blue wolf with horns, a giant stone man and something yellow with a giant eye. There's also a reddish-brunette teenage girl in red at the back of the pack. The winged woman knew she was in trouble.

"Heartless, fall back!" she ordered. The Heartless disappeared in different fashions and we're not talking about the ones already defeated. Some faded and some flew off. Watching the winged woman depart left the boy upset.

"Pixie!" he roared. With the winged woman out of reach, all the boy could do was look on in dismay. "Too late..." Ash looked over to Donald and Goofy, concerned about their health.

"You guys doing okay?" he questioned.

"We're fine," Donald ducked. A hopefully good sign. The teenage girl viewed the new people who they rescued.

"We came as fast as we could," she huffed, catching her breath. "After what happened to Big Blue, Pixie hasn't been herself." A back story which could explain the winged woman's behavior.

"So that woman who attacked us was Pixie?" Goofy asked. "And what do you mean something happening to a Big Blue?" The creatures realized that these newcomers had little information to attach to.

"A loyal adversary and former member of Moo's Big Bad Four," the rock man murmured. That brought more confusion to the group.

"Golem?" the rabbit spoke up. The rock man peered down at the vocal rabbit.

"Yes, Hare?"

"A full explanation is in order. These guys look more puzzled than a riddle." Interesting analogy. Ash and his team could use a refresher, thus a nod from the human of the visitors. Ash knelt, petting the pink thing that rescued them.

"Hey, thanks for the help," he praised. The pink thing giggled to the compliment.

"You're welcome, chi!" it chirped. Ash darted back to where Pixie flew off to.

'What did she mean that Maleficent's hunting for the princesses?' The two groups introduced each other, Pikachu playing with the pink creature. Hearing the story of those familiar with this world, Ash, Donald and Goofy started developing a sense of what this world offered. "How close have you come locating the Phoenix?"

"To be honest, we don't know if we've actually be nearby or it's on the other side of the continent," the teen girl sighed. "It's not that we haven't been searching hard enough. The Magic Stone given to me by my father has guided us on this path in locating different Mystery Disks." Donald and Goofy pondered to the teen's tale.

"It's just that recently, those black monsters have shown up," the eyeball added. "But when we spotted the controller, it was a shock to all of us. To think that Pixie, a former member of the Big Bad Four, was responsible for all this." Ash understood the hardship of such an event occurring.

"I know how that feels," he admitted. "Anyway, when did Pixie become a Heartless?" None of the creatures, nor the two humans had a clue.

"We don't know exactly," Hare shrugged. "Heck, we didn't know what Heartless were until we saw you fight with Pixie and we still don't know now." Being from another plain altogether, clueless characters about something unworldly was expected.

"Since you're the ones who came to eradicate these Heartless," the wolf moaned. "We need to know how to get rid of them and return Pixie to her senses." Ash realized that the wolf sought information for the rest of the team. So, why turn to Donald?

"Donald, a little detail, please?" he asked. Donald gawked, surprised that he'd been asked this.

"Why should I answer Tiger?" he quacked in protest.

"You and Goofy know more to this than I do." Donald threw his wings up, defeated in the purpose.

"Fine! Whatever!" A deep breath, Donald settled down for the story of Heartless. "Heartless are forms of darkness within people's hearts. They manifest into forms of creatures who steal the hearts of people and show no emotion. Goofy, Sora and I battled Ansem and defeated him which should have been the end of the Heartless until something sneaked in and defeated him. Sora spared us and was told to search for the new keyblade wielder." Ash dipped his head and rose an arm.

"And that's where I come in. I was on my way to the Hoenn Region but then, I was attacked by Heartless." Tiger huffed at how much of a wimp Ash acted.

"You're alive, right?" he growled. "Take it like a champ." He wanted Ash to stand up and work on resolving the problems. The boy had the urge to help Pixie out of the form overtaking her.

"Well, if we gotta rescue Pixie," he stammered. "We need to find out where these Heartless are coming from." A task easier said than done.

"And _how_ are we suppose to find the Heartless' headquarters, Genki?" the eyeball growled. A sneer from Genki enveloped a plan.

"Easy, Suezo...Holly's stone." The teen wanted to make sure she heard Genki right. She turned her eyes to a shiny green stone around her neck.

"You sure you wanna use the stone like that?" she urged clarification. Hare wondered why Genki wanted Holly to use the stone to find Pixie and the Heartless.

"Are you thinking back to when Moo used the stone to find his body?" he guessed. One nod from Genki with a look that screeched motivation for finding Pixie's illness.

"It's worth a shot, at least." Golem peered over to Ash who seemed deep in thought. Something bothered the raven-haired child.

"You look disturbed," he pondered. Goofy turned to their new companion, interested with his model of theory, his thumb and index finger wrapping his chin.

"That look tells me something ain't right," he studied. "Of course, he doesn't have to hold his peace. Keeping something that bottled up will make him blow up." Let's hope that doesn't come to pass.

"It's something Pixie said before she attacked," he recalled. "She told us that Maleficent's hunting the princesses throughout the universe. What for, I'm not sure." Goofy and Golem listened, something indeed not fitting with this world.

"Princess?" Golem repeated. Goofy looked up at the giant walking stone monster, wondering if what Ash reminded himself made sense.

"Is there a princess here?" he pointed up.

"Not that I can remember. Maybe..." Twisting around, Golem viewed Hare. "Hey, Hare!" The rabbit's ears picked up on Golem, trotting over to the few.

"Anything up?" he wondered.

"Yes. You seem to have better knowledge about our situation. Have you heard of a princess in the Monster World?" Hare delved into his memory bank to see if there had been a princess.

"This is a toughie. If there was a princess, she's surely hid herself well." After a minute of thinking, Hare huffed a sigh, surrendering to this puzzle. "I'm sorry. I wish I had something to go on." He's not the only one lost.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Holly flustered. "I can't get the Magic Stone to work like Moo." Were they giving up? Ash glanced toward the direction Pixie flew off to.

"There's only one way we can go," he decided. "That way!" Gathered, the groups journeyed down the road for only an hour when the sun set. Night loomed. Tuckered, everyone tucked themselves to sleep...but not Ash. He was wide awake. Not wanting to disturb anyone, he stepped aside and away from the area. Making sure he wasn't within earshot, he looked back. No Pikachu nearby, too. Summoning his keyblade, Ash was ready to...wait, what's his plan? "Okay, let me see if I can contact Sora with this." But how? He planted the blade onto his head, surprisingly not cutting his head open and focused. "Can you hear me, Sora?" Silence in Ash's head. Then...

"_I can hear you," _spoke the voice that "provided" the keyblade. _"Is there something wrong?"_ Back at camp, Holly woke up, noticing that Ash wasn't with the rest.

"Ash?" she called. Scampering to her feet, she looked all over the place. Finally, she found Ash, totally zoned to his weapon.

"_Yeah, it doesn't sound like Ansem before," _Sora hypothesized. _"And in a world void of princesses, what could Maleficent be searching for?"_

"Obviously, something's missing," Ash growled.

"_Indeed. When I traveled Beast's Castle, Beast and I found princesses from Aurora to Snow White to Cinderella. I think Maleficent is searching for those innocents to corrupt and influence a power. Maybe..."_ The sudden pause made Ash think Sora's hiding something which could help the mystery.

"What's wrong?" The disembodied voice held his silence for a little while.

"_I'll try to look into this further in my place. It's too soon to make a conclusion. Besides, you've got company. I'll contact you again." _Ash removed the blade from his head. His mind wandered a little. If Sora couldn't figure what Maleficent searched for...

"Ash?" Holly called out. Ash turned to Holly, a concern in her face. "What are you doing up in the middle of the night?" What could he say?

"Trying to clear my mind about Pixie's words," he tried to explain. "Thought I could ask for help beyond this world but so far, nothing really concrete." His mind was so entwined in the words of Pixie that Holly got pretty worried.

"I don't know who Maleficent is, but if her goal is finding princesses..." Why come here when there are none?

"Somehow, I'm overlooking something but with nothing to really base it on..." He was at a dead-end.

"You know, thinking isn't your strong suit, twerp," mewed the stowaway cat. Hearing the cat, Ash jumped.

"Meowth? I thought Tifa knocked you out." Holly would wonder who Tifa was, let alone this cat.

"Was dat what happened to me? Wow, I guess dis Tifa also did a number to Jessie and James." On Jessie, no question. James got a little less by getting the sleeper hold treatment. "Anyway, I don't like Pikachu's new tongue. I should be the only Pokémon to speak like a human." He wasn't really the only one who didn't like Pikachu speaking human.

"Neither does Pikachu but it's Merlin's offer. Besides, it'll be lifted when this is over with." To learn that this was temporary relieved Meowth.

"I gotcha." Holly offered some advice for when there _is_ a princess in the journey, let alone here.

"Look," she voiced. "All I can say to this is to keep taking down these Heartless and do what you can to keep them from coming back." Simple words but Ash couldn't really offer anything more to help.

"Thanks, Holly," he praised. Holly felt satisfied and returned. Meowth studied the two humans from his point of view.

"You know, that lady twerp is far nicer than the redhead twerp with her Togepi," he pointed out. All Ash could do was shrug his shoulders.

"That's because I didn't total her bike like Misty's." Meowth gawked at Ash's confession as he traveled back to camp.

"Girls get mad over their bikes?" This discovery had the cat wondering what would happen if Team Rocket demolished a girl's bike themselves. "If we could find a female twerp and her bike, destroy it and put da blame on dis twerp, he'll be too busy with her while we take Pikachu." Did he forget that he's the only active Rocket since Jessie's gone and James was...did he even wake up? "Ah! I forgot! I'm by myself! Wait up!" Meowth decided to sleep with his enemy but the real threat hung out in a nearby tree looking down. Who was peering down at Ash and Holly...and Meowth? And with a world where there were no princesses, who could Maleficent be searching for?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED... (The Disney poll is up. We'll still hang out in the Monster World for the second part. Thanks for the reads and reviews.)


	5. No Need to be Pixie, Pixie! Part 2

_Chapter 5: No Need to be Pixie, Pixie! Part 2_

* * *

The search for Pixie and the reason she became a Heartless continued. Ash, Genki, Holly and the creatures marched on to the direction of where Pixie flew toward. Ash was grateful that Genki and his monsters saved him, Pikachu, Goofy and Donald when they first arrived in the Monster World. Meowth? Not so much. Heck, how did he reach the Gummi Ship after Tifa clocked him, choked James out and chucked Jessie clear from Traverse Town? They reached a deserted ghost town in the hunt. "Ash?" Donald quacked. "Is it true?" Ash glared at the tall white duck in blue.

"What are you talking about?" he asked for more detail.

"You destroyed a bike and forced to replace it." The reminder twisted Ash's head to Meowth, the only one who would know that since he's the only one who told him how he and Misty met.

"Did you have to tell them?" Meowth wasn't ashamed by his explanation of Ash's embarrassing moments.

"Dat's what enemies do when forced to work together," the cat shrugged. Pikachu glared down at his enemy, warnings crackling from the electricity in the cheeks.

"No wonder we don't normally see eye-to-eye, you over-chatting cat," he snarled. Meowth didn't appreciate the back talk from Pikachu, let alone the still new voice given to him by Merlin.

"Like you're one to talk! And besides, you need to get rid of dat new tongue! I should be da only Pokémon to talk!" Like it was Pikachu's fault he could talk like the cat?

"Hey, blame that wizard back in Traverse Town for giving me this voice, not Ash or yourself!" Hearing that someone gave him the new voice had Meowth back off.

"Oh, really? And he can't remove it?" Pikachu shook his head, lying that Merlin "cursed" Pikachu. That's when something in the discussion made Goofy think back to when they left the town in question.

"By the way, evil cat," the dog-like character with the shield barked up. "How did you get in the Gummi Ship after what Tifa did to you and your friends?" Could we really consider Jessie and James, Meowth's friends?

"I was bopped in da head! I tried to shake Jimmy Boy up and don't go dere with Jessie! When I saw da twerp and Pikachu, I followed to get a chance to take him but da gravity from taking off in dat ship knocked me out again!" Needless to say how annoyed but astonished Ash was about Meowth's tenacity to chase Pikachu.

"I've had my share of persistent cats back home," Genki huffed. Ash would agree to his new friend's history.

"Team Rocket's just as stubborn as I am," he compared. That's when Ash had a question about Pixie. "Anyway, why is it that Pixie's so important to you?" The creatures and the humans glared at each other, trying to see who would answer for Ash's curiosity. Genki answered.

"Pixie was a member of Master Moo's Big Bad Four but ever since we met, she's rebelled against Moo, even helping us save Holly from Moo's fortress. I know we're friends but I think the big mystery is what happened to her partner, Big Blue." Ash remembered the discussion, now better informed.

"It's not like it'll help you when Pixie faces us once again," Tiger snorted. A soft snicker from Ash told the horned Tiger not to worry about it, like Tiger needed to worry about Ash.

"You'd be surprised at how much a little info can help," he retorted with a grin. Pikachu and Meowth shook their heads at Ash for the back talk.

"He's full of himself...again!" Pikachu groaned. Suddenly, Ash's keyblade popped out of nowhere. He didn't try to call it. Were Heartless around? Weird still, the keyblade moved on its own.

"Okay, keyblade...what are you trying to do?" That keyblade pointed to the sky to the right. Up there was a giant keyhole floating in the sky. Talk about bizarre. To Donald and Goofy, this trip in the Monster World was about over.

"That's the keyhole!" Donald identified. "I can't believe we found it so quickly!" It seemed like the journey in this world was over. Just need to do that one task...and Ash wasn't sure how to do it.

"So, how do I close a keyhole that huge?" he wondered. Ash was a trainer, not really a locksmith.

"Easy!" squawked Donald. "Point the keyblade to the keyhole and it'll do the rest!" Just point...so easy, a baby could do it...if it could lift a key that size.

"And no more Heartless, chi?" the pink creature wished.

"Absolutely!" Fair guarantee. Ash shrugged his shoulders before aiming the keyblade at the keyhole. Just then, the Heartless entered, swarming the group. An ambush! The battles were engaged as multiple Heartless from the Shadows to the flying spheres. Tiger fired lightning from his horns like Pikachu's cheeks, zapping the Shadows. Hare and Genki slugged their way through the Heartless, a lot of them losing hearts upon defeat.

"Tornado!" Golem roared as he busted himself into pieces which swirled around in a rocky twister. POW! Fallen Gigas Shadows... Even Ash got creative with how some of the Heartless fell.

"Mocchi!" he called to the pink creature. "Suezo!" The two creatures curled themselves to balls before charging at Ash, trying out for baseball? Ash swing the keyblade, batting Mocchi and Suezo at and destroying the spheres with each slam.

"That's outta the park!" Suezo joked. After a few minutes of Heartless beatings...

"So, you're all still around, huh?" Pixie snarled from above. All turned to the flying woman in the sky. The Heartless from Maleficent aren't as powerful as I preferred. A real shame." Genki wanted the truth from Pixie about her partner.

"What happened to Big Blue?!" he yelled his question. "I know you two are inseparable!" A sneer from Pixie wasn't a sign of being emotional. She threw orbs of lightning that Ash slugged back, only for the orbs to vanish once hit. Genki tried again to get answers. "Pixie! What about the friendship between us? All those times where we helped each other?" Pixie laughed, more lack of remorse from the leader of the Heartless.

"Fool! You're weak without the old me, aren't you?" Proving a point, she swooped in, plowing everyone and everything to the floor. Ash and Holly slowly rose, viewing Pixie clutching Genki. This was a problem for Holly.

"Genki!" she cried out. Genki was at the mercy of the Heartless leader.

"Now, child! You heart will soon power the Heartless under my power!" That would not be the case as lightning orbs nailed Pixie and floored her. Genki recovered his feet and looked up to a huge surprise.

"So you're the one responsible for injuring Blue, huh?" voiced...another Pixie? Genki spotted the new woman, looking like the first Pixie but with red where the first was black and skin the same as Genki's or Ash's.

"Pixie?" he hiccuped. This female had a medallion with red eyes just below her neck unlike the symbol on the first Pixie. Just then, Genki quickly remembered this Pixie mentioning someone or something named Blue being injured. This Pixie that saved Genki...

"You okay, kid?" she asked. No doubt about it, this was the real Pixie.

"Yeah, thanks!" The "Pixie" that attacked Ash, Pikachu, Donald and Goofy had to be a clone.

"How dare you!" the black copy growled. Pixie smiled at the false version.

"Hey, I'm the one who should say that after you chose to attack Genki," Pixie retorted. She raced in with more lightning orbs in her hand. The clone swiped her tail at the new warrior but she ducked the whipping tail before slamming the orbs in the enemy's face. She crashed the ground hard, behind the rest of the group. When the clone rose her head, her face was different...and not anything close to ugly could be said enough. Her face warped and seemingly decayed, her horn knocked off her head and half the face that looked like it melted.

"My beauty!" she cried in anger. "Look at what you did to my face! You'll pay and your life will not be enough to fulfill my rage!" Holly couldn't bear to see the deformed Heartless Pixie, jerking her head from the sight. Ash, Pikachu, Goofy and Donald prepared themselves for the fight.

"Genki, Holly, leave her to the four of us," he waived the group off. Pixie flew right by Genki's group while another shadow crept up, mainly on Holly.

"You think you can do this?" Pixie questioned. Ash gazed a look at the real Pixie, confident to rid this Heartless Pixie from existence.

"Just watch." Heartless Pixie fired multiple volleys of lightning orbs. Pixie summoned a wall of fire, absorbing the orbs, buying time for Ash to come up with a strategy. "Goofy, on me!" Goofy jumped on Ash's shoulders as he ran from under the cover of Pixie's fire shield. Goofy's shield acted like a steel umbrella from the raining lightning. "Donald! Pikachu! Stun her!" Donald and Pikachu conjured Thunderbolt attacks which shocked Heartless Pixie. With her paralyzed in midair, Ash was ready to finish the job. "Goofy, now!" Goofy jumped from Ash's shoulders right at the enemy, delivering an overhand shield smash which demolished the other horn and knocked her to Ash. With one slash of the keyblade, Heartless Pixie was knocked back into the air as her body began dissolving. Her scream was the last as she turned into nothing. At last, the Heartless in this world were defeated. Genki and the monsters, including Pixie were astounded with how Ash and his friends stopped the clone.

"Hyuk!" Goofy laughed. "Now you can close the keyhole!" Ash nodded to his companion and fired a beam at the keyhole from the keyblade and turned it. With a click, the world was sealed. Ash looked up at the keyhole as it vanished, grateful to save the monsters and humans here. Even Meowth had to enjoy seeing his adversary take out something more hideous than Jessie.

"Okay, I may wanna stay clear of da twerp if he can knock someone's block off like that," he stuttered. Ash turned to face the rest when he noticed someone wasn't with the group.

"Where's Holly?" he wondered. The monsters and Genki looked suddenly, surprised that Holly would disappear without warning.

"She was here a minute ago!" Hare recalled. That's when Pikachu saw her floating along that green-faced woman from the end of the first chapter. Donald and Goofy gawked at who it was.

"It's Maleficent!" Donald quacked in fear. Ash was now facing the controller of the Heartless.

"So now I meet the new keyblade master in person," Maleficent acknowledged. "Sora must have magnificent faith to place the bane of the Heartless to someone as inept as you." Ash didn't move, busy studying the captor of Holly. Golem and Suezo raced ahead, trying to rescue their guide. Maleficent wasn't amused. "You two think you can rescue the princess? I beg to differ."

"Yeah?" Suezo snapped. "Beg to differ on this!" Golem broke himself apart, performing another Tornado attack.

"Tornado!" he roared. Unflinching, Maleficent palmed a hand forward, dispersing the attack and knocking everyone down.

"Futile," she scoffed before turning to Ash. "Your will is desiring but weak. I don't need my full power to take your heart. I shall take this princess and make my departure. I bid you adieu." Maleficent vanished with Holly.

"HELP ME!" Holly cried out. Genki chased but it was too late. Holly was gone. Genki crumpled to his knees, helpless that Holly was taken. He punched the dirt. Ash's nerves felt shot. Seeing how powerful Maleficent was in the moment left the new keyblade wielder stunned. A necklace fell from where Holly vanished from which contained a green stone. Everyone felt defeated. They vanquished the Heartless but were powerless to protect Holly. All gathered to try and make sense about what just occurred that Holly was abducted.

"I think I know why that girl was considered the princess of this place," Pixie thought. "I overheard Moo mentioning that the girl was his daughter. Boiling it down, it's not much of a stretch that the witch was after her from the start." Even so, it didn't make the other monsters, human boys, Goofy and Donald any better. Heck, some could argue that it made them feel worse.

"We failed Holly," Golem sadly murmured. A heartbreaking truth.

"We were right there to make sure she was safe," Tiger groaned at losing a member so quickly despite the numbers. Donald wanted to keep everyone's spirits up.

"Phooey!" he spouted. "We can get Holly back! We've gotten the princesses back once before!" If Ash was up to the task. Even he felt bad for letting Holly get taken.

"All isn't lost, Ash," Goofy tried to console. "Donald says so." Ash bobbed a nod. This was the only means to move on.

"I guess all we can do at the moment is reach the next world and try to prevent what happened here," he concluded. Genki nodded before remembering the stone.

"Ash?" he called. "Here. The Magic Stone Holly had. Make sure it gets back to her." Ash received the stone. In his hand, he gripped it tightly, angered still at not saving Holly when they had the chance.

"Genki, I'll do everything in my power to bring Holly back here." Genki saw that Ash sought to fight back against Maleficent. "Okay, guys...let's get back to the Gummi Ship." The visitors left the area but Pixie felt she needed to do something to repay Ash for deciphering the differences between her and the Heartless version. She reached the boys as Pikachu and Meowth entered the Gummi Ship.

"Hey!" she called out. Ash stopped to turn to Pixie as Donald and Goofy joined the two others. "I think you might need this." She presented Ash another keyblade. This keyblade appeared to be made of stone with carvings on the barrel that looked like a dragon with claws for the key piece. The blade was also heavy. Ash could easily wield the original keyblade with one hand but this one needed both. "Found it as I took Blue into hiding. We monsters aren't into weapons, conventional or obscure. And since I saw how well you did against that weak doppelganger with that blade, I thought this could come in handy for you." This was real thoughtful of Pixie to give Ash a tool while barely even knowing him. Ash stepped aside and did a few practice swings. Man, the keyblade was difficult to handle.

"I might need someone with a bit of muscle to help me with this weapon." Nevertheless, he made the new keyblade vanish like the first one. "Thanks, Pixie." The winged woman shook her head, no big deal to her.

"Consider it a debt paid. Now, do what you can and try to protect the other princesses." A nod from Ash and he finally joined the others and the Gummi Ship left the Monster World. A new mission in place for Ash, Goofy, Donald and Pikachu. Meowth? Bit of a stretch.

"Look, Meowth," Pikachu mulled. "Unless you can fight back against the Heartless, there's no reason to come with all of us. You'll only be in the way!" Meowth did not exactly appreciate the tone of Pikachu, let alone that he could talk like him a little. However, Meowth didn't really do anything except watch so even if Pikachu was being rude, there's nothing really for Meowth to reply on...almost.

"Excuse me?" he snapped back. "But I used my Fury Swipes to take out a Heartless."

"Yes, _one _Heartless. Not a bunch. I've beaten droves of them." Hearing Pikachu crush Meowth like a rookie brought a faint smile to Ash. He needed to stay focused. Whatever lay ahead, he needed to take care of before Maleficent's true plan bore fruit.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(It's apparent that the next chapter or two will be "Wreck-It Ralph." Now that I have the movie on DVD, it'll give me a chance to come up with a way to interpret the next chapters and it's interesting to note that one of the members behind Pixar is from my next-city neighbor, Neenah. I met a family friend of the member so this will be a good chance to dedicate to him.)


	6. Wreck-It on the Heartless, Part 1

_Chapter 6: Wreck-It on the Heartless, Part 1_

* * *

Ash still had the regret that Maleficent managed to abduct Holly, even though Genki and his legion of monsters were there helping him, Goofy, Donald, Pikachu and Meowth. Heck, Meowth hardly played a part in the surge against the Heartless. Purging the Heartless copy of Pixie and sealing the gate to the Monster World, Maleficent still snagged the upper hand. While sealing the gate was the goal, Ash felt like he lost to the witch. "Hey, if it makes ya feel any better, Sora couldn't save all the princesses when we were with him," Goofy tried to console. It should sound like it had happened in the past but it didn't make Ash feel any better.

"Are you saying that we should wait for Maleficent to take the other princesses?" he questioned. Goofy stopped himself after realizing what the keyblade wielder pointed out. His reaction was to waive his arms in denial.

"No, not like that! I'm just saying that we need to know why Maleficent needs all those princesses." And their next place may have said information?

"We can't let Holly's capture stop us," Donald quacked more. "We need to seal the gates and stop the Heartless at all costs." A huff from Ash told himself to butch up. Suddenly, alarms. They were close to another world with a Heartless infestation.

"More Heartless issues?" Pikachu wondered. That's what lured them to the Monster World.

"Hopefully, da name oughta be better dan da last time," Meowth wished. Donald observed the monitor and studied infestation popping up.

"According to this, that world is Gaming Central Station," he read. The world could have had a better name.

"Well, at least it's better than 'Monster World'," Ash joked. "Oh, well...if they need help, we might as well go and help." The Gummi Ship descended to the new world and into a hangar chute. Once the ship's engine was turned off, the group exited the hanger bay where three people greeted the arriving party. One was a giant spiky brunette man in overalls over a red shirt...and huge arms. Seriously, those arms could crush Meowth with one finger. The second was a small ponytail-dark brunette girl in turquoise jacket and striped socks while sporting a black frilly skirt and shoes. Her hair had sprinkles like on ice cream cones. The last was a blond boy in blue and...is that a monkey tail?

"Hey, I was wondering when you guys would make it," the blond sighed. "Leon told me that a new keyblade wielder would arrive soon enough. Zidane Tribal at your service." Ash and Zidane shook hands.

"Ash Ketchum, back at ya! By the way, how did you get over here?"

"Easy...Locke dropped me off before he used the Gummi Ship and raced to Port Royale. He said something about a gift for Celes as an apology for all the troubles he's caused to her." The name of Locke's location reminded Ash and the rest about Merlin's locations of Heartless activity.

"That's one of the worlds we need to fix up on," Goofy reminded. Ash nodded when that reminder brought up the topic.

"By the way, how's the situation with the Heartless?" he asked Zidane. The biggest man there came up with an answer.

"Not good," he huffed. "With the Heartless and the Cy-Bugs teaming up on us, it's a miracle we've lasted this long. I'm worried about Felix, though we've been like budding rivals." Ash and the rest began to understand who Felix was to him. Zidane thought it might be wise to introduce the heroes to the two here.

"Ash, this is Ralph," Zidane informed. "Or more commonly known as Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz." With those huge arms, he could indeed Wreck-It. Ash got nervous towards those huge arms of Ralph.

"Kinda wish I brought my Snorlax," he chuckled. "I'd like to see his strength compared to yours." Ralph had to believe it was a compliment.

"Thanks...I guess," he shyly praised while scratching his head. Vanellope wanted to get moving.

"I hate to hustle everyone but we need to go to 'Hero's Duty' and regroup with Sargent Calhoun," she urged. Ralph and Zidane nodded as they spun heads to a gate with the sign reading "HERO'S DUTY." They dashed in the gate and soon found themselves floating uncontrollably in what appeared to be outer space. Meowth wasn't really enjoying zero gravity.

"Hey!" he whined. "Get me back on da ground!" He was about to get his wish. They floated onto a platform and planted their feet down. More beings floated down but remained floating. Those beings were tiny and donned red and blue skirts as well as brown pointy hats. The red skirts shot fire spells and forced all to scramble. Ash and Zidane whipped out their weapons: Ash with the keyblade he got from Pixie and Zidane with twin curved daggers. The weight of the keyblade forced Ash to a squat.

"Timeout!" he requested. Zidane and Pikachu wondered why he wanted to halt action. He made his keyblade disappear before summoning the default keyblade. "Okay. Time in!" Ralph slammed his fist into his hand, psyched to fight.

"Yeah, I'm gonna Wreck-It!" he roared. The tiny things restarted their barrage of fire. Donald wove his wand in circles before swirls of wind deflected the flames away. As the same time, Gigas Shadows bum-rushed the heroes. Ralph went smashing the Heartless to pancakes. Donald kept the swirling winds around him and Vanellope. Pikachu fired his Thunderbolt, zapping the floating Heartless from the air. Ash and Zidane carved their way through more of the Heartless. One awesome moment had the blue skirts shoot ice shards but Ash cut through the shards which split and nailed the red skirts, destroying them and releasing the hearts. A dangerous moment was seeing Ralph grab Goofy and Zidane by the legs, spinning both in a whirling dervish of destruction. The area was cleared of Heartless but here came robotic bugs. Metallic scorpion-shaped insects with four glowing green eyes raced at the large group. Ash spotted the swarm, taking action right off the bat.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash's best friend shot a Thunderbolt, short-circuiting the bugs...only for more to come. Donald chipped in and both launched streams of electricity, zapping the bugs to malfunction. Not enough, more bugs of steel steamrolled on the scene. Suddenly, gunfire. The insects got eviscerated. All turned to heavily armored soldiers using large semiautomatic rifles shooting the green slime from the Cy-Bugs. Leading the charge of backup was a tall blond woman in a slimmer suit. She faced Ralph and Vanellope who reached his side.

"Stirring up trouble like always, Ralph?" she teased. That's when she spotted Ash and his team, realizing that something wasn't right. "Maybe this is why the Cy-Bugs were more difficult recently. I need your name, soldier." Ash "stashed" his keyblade away and saluted her.

"Ash Ketchum, ma'am." The woman bowed her head to confirm the name.

"Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun, leader of this army. Maybe you can explain the reason Cy-Bugs have mysteriously gotten stronger." Ash recalled Merlin's words and the appearance of Maleficent back in Monster World, knowing that any information was key to stopping all the enemies.

"A witch named Maleficent. I think she's doing something to the Cy-Bugs and sicking her army of Heartless to cause problems for all of us." Donald web-footed forth to add to the description.

"She's after the princesses throughout the universe," he further clarified. "She got Holly from the last world." Calhoun wasn't the only character that looked stunned. Zidane seemed surprised that someone would search for princesses like one wasn't enough.

"Princesses, huh? Good luck finding one in this world." She had no idea about their last surprise for Ash, Donald, Goofy and the Pokémon.

"That's what we thought back in Monster World," Goofy barked. "We need to be on guard for Maleficent wherever she shows up." That's when he offered a hand...or paw to Calhoun. "Goofy's the name. That's Donald Duck, Pikachu and Meowth the Stowaway." Meowth didn't like being labeled as a stowaway when it's true.

"Hey, I should use dat shield to beat your head!" he snapped. Ash sighed. Typical Team Rocket attitude, huh? Ralph's concern for Felix rose back up.

"Tamora, have you seen Felix around?" he asked. "He's not in Niceland." Calhoun heard the big-armed man. She knew something about this from her smile.

"He's back at base," she notified. "Markowski was in the right place at Tapper's when those new threats attacked. Ken, Mario and Sonic are watching the base while we came to save your butts." Ralph clutched his chest and breathed easy, thankful that his friend was okay. "However, his golden hammer has gone missing. I don't have time to look for something as minor as a hammer." The missing golden hammer had Ralph wondering where it could be. Right away, his last whereabouts gave Pikachu a clue.

"Hey, let's hit this Tapper's and find Felix's hammer," he squeaked. Ash bobbed his head, trusting his partner's intuition.

"Okay," he replied. "Goofy, Zidane, go with the sergeant to her base and keep Felix occupied." Goofy replied via military salute: hand over an eye with the palm down. "Donald, Ralph, come with us." Wait...what about Vanellope? Hitching a ride on Ralph, he helped the rest exit the Hero Duty land back to the giant hallway. A stroll toward the tunnel with "Tapper's" on the sign above sent the smaller troupe to...a tavern? Ash and Vanellope aren't old enough to drink! Not sure about Ralph or Donald... A raven-haired mustached man greeted the new guest, surprisingly not immediately asking for identification. Dude, you've got minors in your watering hole!

"Howdy, folks," he greeted. "Can I get you some root beer?" Oh... well, root beer isn't alcoholic so practically anyone could enter his place and grab a drink. At least no hangovers possible.

"Later. Have you seen a golden hammer around here?" The bartender has a second to see if he remembered a hammer being dropped.

"Can't really say I have. There hasn't really been anything going missing for the past 30 years." That's longer than Ash had been alive. This news left the group defeated.

"Well that was a wild goose chase," Vanellope mulled. "Where next? Sugar Rush? Fix-It Felix, Jr.? Q*Bert?" Plenty of choices to search for the hammer. Ralph pondered to where a good place to look could be. They wouldn't get a chance to look. Someone...or something barged in the tavern. A giant black spiked turtle with crooked devil horns and standing upright approached the group. A thunderous roar shook the stool from where they stood.

"Giga Bowser...and I thought he couldn't get any angrier," Ralph awed. Giga Bowser spat a huge stream of fire which scorched and set ablaze tables and stools. Vanellope and Meowth hid behind the bar while Ash, Pikachu, Donald and Ralph battled the overgrown tortoise.

"Okay, what do we do?" Meowth wondered. Vanellope gazed at the tap with the faucet reading "ROOT BEER." A plan from the tiny girl stormed.

"Lemme glitch this for a second," she offered. Vanellope removed the "ROOT" from the label and then peeked inside the closet. A hose was her item of choice as she pulled it out and attached it to the tap. "Let's cool Giga Bowser off and waste him." Ralph tried to smash his giant fist into Giga Bowser but the turtle back-handed him toward the bar. Ash saw the power with Giga Bowser. He knew he was in trouble.

"I don't think Quick Attack or Thunderbolt will work," he studied. Meowth jumped from behind the bar with hose in hand.

"Hey, tall, dark and ugly!" he goaded to Giga Bowser. "Lemme get ya something to drink!" Kicking the tap, a geyser of beer streamed out at Giga Bowser's open jaw. The beer blast began to fill Giga Bowser and the alcohol instantly started to take effect. Trying to recover, Giga Bowser stood and attempted another fire stream...but he hiccuped instead. He tried again and again but the alcohol seemed that it's winning over him. Ash began to see that having Meowth tag along was a good move. Ralph recovered enough to see Ash use his keyblade and slash Giga Bowser now that he's three sheets to the wind. Swinging up to slash, Ash was in the air and ready to end it. One moment of concentration, his switched keyblades to the Monster form and swung down, seemingly splitting Giga Bowser in half. Giga Bowser didn't really split but he went down in defeat. Donald and Ralph stood, jaws hanging down in stun.

"Holy guacamole!" Donald gawked. Then something odd occurred: dark mist seeped out of Giga Bowser and through the ventilation shaft. Giga Bowser shrunk from it's huge size and color, having a green shell and yellow body with red hair and shorter baby bull horns. Ralph realized that this tortoise was less threatening.

"Bowser's back to normal," he stated. Bowser's eyes opened up but they were still pretty woozy.

"Was that really root beer?" Pikachu wondered, covering his nose and mouth from the alcoholic fumes. "It looked way too light to be okay...and what's that awful stench?" Ash approached Bowser, somewhat cautious.

"Need help getting up?" he asked with a hand out to assist. Bowser wove his arm out, not wanting any aid as he rolled and stood on wobbly legs.

"She made my losses to Mario seem like he took it easy on me," he groaned with a hiccup. "I was covered in darkness and I think he did the same to Eggman and King Candy." In trying to stand up, Bowser let out a huge belch that echoed throughout the tavern. "Excuse me. That's the last time I have alcohol, ever." How many think he'll follow through on that? Hearing this report of "she," Donald and Ash had a realization that Maleficent was causing problems. After fixing the line, Meowth and Vanellope heard Bowser's groan figuring out where they needed to go.

"If King Candy's in danger, let's get over to the Sugar Rush game," she suggested. Ash and Ralph nodded, the sense of a royal character in jeopardy. What's Maleficent's plan and who could the princess be from this Gaming Central Station?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	7. Wreck-It on the Heartless, Part 2

_Chapter 7: Wreck-It on the Heartless, Part 2_

* * *

In another world that Maleficent unleashed the Heartless, Ash and his alliance teamed up with Ralph, Vanellope and Zidane not just to eradicate the shadowy beings but the Cy-Bugs which had invaded Gaming Central Station. Ash, Pikachu, Meowth, Donald, Ralph and Vanellope stayed in Tapper's after breaking Bowser from a spell. Bowser ate large pieces of meat while Ash and Ralph guzzled on a darker-colored drink that Meowth and Vanellope doused and disabled Bowser's fire. Unlike the liquid before, it wasn't intoxicating the drinkers. "So, how do you know Bowser and Eggman?" Ash questioned Ralph.

"Easy," Ralph snapped. "We all attend a support group called 'Bad-Anon' with others like Clyde, Neff, Bison and others." Wait...Ralph's a bad guy? Learning about Ralph had Ash and the Pokémon stepping back a few feet. "I recognized Giga Bowser when he told me he was asked to join another game and even showed me a new form." Being part of a support group tend to give you head's up on what to expect.

"Yes, but I became Giga against my will," Bowser groaned. "I was in Niceland to relax when that witch swooped in. She wanted to give me power and that my hatred would benefit my strength to stop a true threat invading the Station. I refused but then something knocked me out. I don't remember anything up to now when you beat out what was controlling me." The information slowly rolled in for the heroes. It still didn't explain Eggman's involvement.

"What about Eggman and King Candy?" Vanellope wondered. "You said that they were done the same way she did to you." Bowser tried to recall what he said after the darkness was knocked out of him.

"Trust me, I fought the darkness and saw Eggman in a veil of black, looking more menacing than before...and that's when I fell unconscious. There was something else..." What now?

"I called it," Pikachu shrugged...to what. "I had a feeling Bowser knew more that we didn't need to rush out." Which was why no one left for the Sugar Rush... Way to be on the ball, Pikachu.

"I saw a giant keyhole above. That's when I met that witch." Ash's plans were set based on the new information.

"Okay, let's hit up Niceland before Sugar Rush," he plotted out. "You think you're gonna be okay, Bowser?" The spiked turtle rose his meat, saying he's satisfied in his place. The rest exited Tapper's and ran right toward a swarm of Cy-Bugs. The metallic insects had a new look with purple eyes and twin scorpion tails.

"As if these things weren't enough of a pain," Donald growled. One Cy-Bug leaped at Ralph and flung its stingers at the mammoth armed villain...but failed when Ralph caught said stingers.

"Let's spin the tail on the Cy-Bugs!" he roared before spinning himself and the insect of steel around and around and around, smashing the Cy-Bugs in the process. Ralph with Cy-Bug, a wrecking...or Wreck-It ball of destruction.

"Awesome!" Ash cheered. Clearing a path, Ralph turned to a tunnel with "FIX-IT FELIX, JR." sign over it.

"This way!" Entering the tunnel, they found themselves in front of a high structure hotel with a sign reading "NICELAND." This was Niceland? A hotel by all standards?

"You're joking, right?" Meowth mulled. Ralph had very little explanation, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's Ralph's home world so don't expect too much," Vanellope argued. It may be the game featuring Ralph but Ash needed to find the keyhole and stat. Summoning his keyblade, he pointed the weapon to the hotel. No reaction. He spotted a mountain, made up of bricks. The keyblade shook. The keyhole over on the mountain? Raising it a little more, the keyhole slowly emerged from midair.

"Be on your guard!" Donald warned. He remembered the same moment in Monster World. A beam flashed out of the keyblade and into the keyhole. The twist of the weapon...and the click...and the hole was sealed. The hole vanished. Everyone relaxed...for a moment. "Guess not..." He was expecting trouble. Still, it's too early to stay calm. A small brunette man with a mustache and in a business suit exited the hotel, not happy seeing Ralph.

"Causing mischief again, Ralph?" he scolded. Ralph threw his hands up in denial.

"No, Gene!" he snapped. "Not me. Those Cy-Bugs have gone crazy to a new power provided by an outsider!" Gene shook his head, not believing a word Ralph said.

"Nice try, but as Mayor and you being the everyday arm of destruction, I have no choice but to-"

"Watch those bugs rushing toward the hotel?" Ash interrupted Gene. The pointing had the mayor see Cy-Bugs on the attack. They were about to get some help. Calhoun, Zidane, Goofy and two more men entered the scene. One was a muscled brunette man, haircut like a mowed mo-hawk and wearing only shorts and boots with a manly goatee and awesome shin hair. The other was a smaller brunette, about Gene's height, in a sky blue button-down work shirt and baseball cap.

"We're coming, Ralph!" the smaller brunette called out. The bigger brunette snagged Goofy and chucked him on top of his shield like a Frisbee or more of a flat stone over water as Goofy skipped over the Cy-Bugs. Reaching the rest, Ash raised his keyblade with both hands and blocked Goofy from hitting the rest. The Cy-Bugs turned to the new invaders. "Go get 'em, Zangief!" The bigger brunette proudly roared, his arms and index fingers in the air.

"Prepare, comrades," Zangief shouted in a Russian accent. "For I am...the Red Cyclone!" One Cy-Bug pounced... bad idea. He caught the bug, spun around and suplex it onto it's head, rolled over, repeated two more times on more of the bugs before flinging it high. Zangief leaped toward the cybernetic insect, the tails somehow wrapped around the head. This should be awesome. Zangief grabbed the bug in midair and spun around with the big bug over the head. Finally, he smashed the Cy-Bug and caused a huge splash which blew the rest away from the area. The Cy-Bug was busted in a million pieces, disabled permanently. "Da!" Ash shuttered at Zangief's strength.

"That's...power," he hesitated. Pikachu bobbed his head, frightened. The other brunette and Calhoun reached the rest, information on hand.

"Felix!" Gene called to the last unknown.

"I'm sorry, Mayor," he apologized before jerking the head to the big guy. "Ralph, did you find it?" Ralph shook his head. He knew Felix was referring to his golden hammer.

"Sorry, buddy," he replied. "We're still looking for it." Gene wasn't sure about what they were talking about.

"It?" he asked. Ralph chose to answer.

"His golden hammer. He lost it at Tapper's and the bartender said it wasn't there." Only one place it could be and Donald had a feeling as to where it is.

"We need to run over to Sugar Rush and see if it's there," he reminded. Ash had no choice but to listen.

"Comrade Ralph," Zangief reached out. "Let's help clean mess up." Ralph nodded to the suggestion.

"Tamora, let's help out," Felix offered as he glanced toward Ash. "You're the one helping out with the Cy-Bugs and the Heartless like Tamora told me?" Ash acknowledged the information. Vanellope jumped on Ash's head, urging him to move...or...

"It's the game I'm from so I can show you around," she pointed out. Ash smiled, ready to move.

"Okay," he responded. "Let's go!" Gene and the muscled men watched the rest exit this land as the rest wrestled to the "SUGAR RUSH" tunnel. Once through, the group saw a land which would fear many dentists full of chocolate dirt roads, gumdrop trees, Oreo cookie barrier walls, anything that would rot your teeth. "No wonder this place is called Sugar Rush. It's a little kid's paradise. Sugary snacks, chocolate landscapes and sundae mountains..."

"Dat's for sure," Meowth gulped. "But I wonder if it's edible..." Before anyone else had a thought, a little green-haired girl in all green reached the group in a panic

"Vanellope, I was wondering where you vanished," she huffed, a little out of breath.

"Minty, what's wrong?" Vanellope questioned.

"It's the King! He's not himself!" This was word mentioned by Bowser. "That witch did something to him!" Maleficent was busy while Ash sealed the world off. Apparently, it wasn't the only danger. What came next was a walking red machine with weapons built-in. Inside was a purplish skinned obese bald man with glasses and his clothes dark to go with the fuzzy mustache. This wasn't the king, was it?

"I doubt that's him," Pikachu pondered.

"No, that's Dr. Robotnik, AKA Eggman," Calhoun corrected. Eggman cackled, the darkness emanating from his body growing more on the nerves of the rest.

"Maleficent has supplied me with power that can overwhelm that hedgehog!" he laughed. "But I'll need to test this on something much slower...like all of you!" He hit a few buttons, guiding the weapons toward Ash when something sprang up from behind him. Pikachu catapulted to the air and fired a Thunderbolt, striking the vehicle. After a few seconds of electric responding, Calhoun busted out a rifle, shooting the legs from the joints to an immobile Eggman.

"Okay, Ash. Finish him."

"With pleasure," Ash listened. With one dash and slash, Eggman was knocked out of his vehicle and rolled as his ride got dismantled, mist of darkness seeping out. Darkness also left Eggman, who wore red but still kept black pants. The darkness within Eggman was defeated. A few seconds later, Eggman came around. Groggy, he wondered what happened to him as he clutched his head.

"What just happened?" he groaned. Same way with Bowser, unsure what just happened.

"You were under a spell, doc. We came to stop that witch from anymore damage." Eggman shook his head in disbelief. "Just relax, alright? We'll stop whatever is doing this." Eggman felt defeated, not just against Ash, Pikachu and Calhoun, but in how he was violated by terms of his body. That's when Eggman noticed something amiss.

"Wait...where's my Egg Mobile?" Ash glared over to the vehicle that was destroyed. "That's not it. The Egg Mobile hovers around." The tidbit got the rest to look up. That's when Pikachu saw a round machine flying towards them.

"Up there!" he alerted. Everyone saw where Pikachu faced, eying the craft above.

"So, this is where you've disappeared to, Vanellope?" voiced someone in the hovering vehicle. Out popped a balding man having white hair under the dome and far below his gold crown. He wore a white undershirt under a purple robe. "This is how you protest when you're not allowed to race?" Vanellope growled. Ash watched on when he saw black steam, not smoke, coming from the crowned man's dome. "I don't blame you for making these acts to want to race. After all, Princess Von Schweetz, since I took over as ruler, you've been nothing but Sour Skittles." Everyone else turned to Vanellope, shocked to find out she's a princess. This was who Maleficent was after?

"Wait a minute..." Ash gasped. "You're a princess?" Even Vanellope wasn't aware.

"This is new," she murmured. "But how would you know, King Candy?" The ruler's smug had bitterness on his mind.

"King Candy?" he mulled. "That character never existed. You poor fools were under quite the impression that someone would easily be king when, in fact, I had everything to destroy this game and get it unplugged." All shuttered in thought. "Now that I've acquired Eggman's Egg Mobile, I'll redesign the landscape with destruction! It'll be turbo-tastic!" What he said, Felix had a flashback. He knew what he was jabbering on about?

"Is that really you, Turbo?" he pondered. The king sneered at Felix, seemingly knowledgeable about him.

"Only games that have lasted 30 years would know about who I am. A beloved arcade racer, victorious in countless races. I was the king of racing. No car could outpace me, no racer could outrun me...until new racing games emerged and I was put in the wayside. Anger sped through my mind. Revenge became my track. I abandoned _TurboTime_ and jumped from game to game, avoiding deletion. Suddenly, _Sugar Rush_ came by and I thought I'd take over. Seeing everyone race wanted me to relive my passion, only to be granted by the wondrous Maleficent." Bitter hatred fueled King Candy, or Turbo. Maleficent only brought out the anger with the malcontent royal. That's when he ripped his head off...at least a mask. Underneath the mask was a gray-skinned in a white crash helmet. He tore his royal clothes, revealing a white jumpsuit. Turbo's eyeballs, not just the eyes, and his teeth were vomit yellow. "Now to tear this place apart...starting with the racers." Using the Egg Mobile, Turbo fired missiles and destroyed cars made of...what else...sweets.

"So, that old-timer had grudges against newer games," Eggman theorized. Ash growled, knowing that Turbo needed to be stopped.

"We gotta crash Turbo or this land is ruined," he warned. "But...how?" Ash and Eggman looked toward the destroyed vehicle where Felix was digging inside.

"Yeah!" he cheered as he pulled out a gold hammer. "I've got my hammer back!" While that was good to hear, a bigger problem arose. Vanellope looked at the cars demolished, an idea.

"Felix, can you fix me and Ash a car, quickly?" she asked. Felix, his hammer in hand, was eager.

"You got it! I need a few seconds!" Felix rushed to the other racers. "Clear out! Emergency repairs!" Felix gathered remains of the racers and disappeared in a cloud of cocoa dust. A minute later, a race car was built. Using Eggman's walker and some of the cars done in by Turbo, the new race car had a candy corn nose, taffy chassis, peppermint pucks for wheels and turbo boosters in the back. "Done!" Ash, Pikachu and Vanellope ran toward the new car.

"Thanks, Felix!" she praised. She and Ash had a chance, the three hopping in the ride.

"Turbo's got a good head start," Pikachu advised. Vanellope knew they had to catch up.

"Hang on tight!" The boosters kicked in, the race to catch up to Turbo beginning. Like a rocket, the car zoomed out of the starting line. Near triple-digit speeds, Vanellope turned the butterscotch puck steering wheel like a pro, one thing Pikachu noticed taking 90-degree turns.

"You know how to race these cars!" A secret Vanellope didn't mind sharing.

"Racing's in my code!" They soon saw the Egg Mobile ascending to the mountains. Vanellope knew right away what the intention would be. "He's heading to Diet Cola Mountain! I think he's gonna use the Mentos stalagmites to rupture the game beyond repair!" Turbo spotted the trio zooming down zigzag roads, a valiant attempt to reach him.

"Time to use the Turbo Missiles!" he cackled. From the side of the Egg Mobile, turrets popped out before missiles shot out in volleys. The road was wide enough where Vanellope's driving was slightly tested. Then a sign: a yellow diamond which a horseshoe, shaped with licorice. Vanellope had a plan.

"Ash, hang out the side of the car! I'm gonna fling you at the has-been!" Ash gulped. Use the candied car to launch Ash? "The hairpin turn and my skills should give you plenty of lift!" Ash wasn't sure about this. It wasn't necessarily the momentum would propel Ash toward Turbo.

"What about Maleficent?" he pointed out. "If she knows that your the princess..." Vanellope's grin told Ash that she had a plan for such a case.

"If she's as good at driving, she's gotta know I'm better! I'll see you at the mountain!" The mountain's peak, shaped like a glass soda bottle, was in sight. Ash leaped out of the seat with Pikachu hanging on to the back, using the sweat-tee's hood to stay close to Ash. Vanellope hit the hairpin turn, viciously swinging the car around the twist in the road. "Now!" The fling threw Ash to the sky, aiming at the bottle or the Egg Mobile. Button mashing the "Missile" key, he wanted to fire a series of missiles to knock or destroy the keyblade holder as he summoned the keyblade.

"Missile Barrage, Turbo Time!" he roared laughing, missiles fired in droves. Ash appeared screwed. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable...but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw that everything was in slow motion: he, the Egg Mobile, the missiles... everything was moving at a snail's pace.

"Okay, what's going on?" he wondered.

"_Quick-Time Vision!" _Sora cleared up, speaking once again in his head.

"Sora?" What a time to talk to the former at this moment.

"_You've enabled Quick-Time Vision. You've noticed that your surroundings have slowed down. Quick-Time Vision allows you to escape perilous moments like here. Why not use this to climb the missile ladder and reach the one causing the problems." _His new-found ability, Ash watched the closest missile in reach. He lowered his feet onto the barrel before jumping off toward another. In slow-motion, he was floating as he skipped from one missile to another. Normal speed, Turbo was flabbergasted. Ash was moving so fast, all that you could see was streaking blue.

"He's moving at Turbo Speed?!" he choked. "I'm the one who's Turbo! No one else!" Yet, he's still slamming the button repeatedly. Ralph and Zangief arrived to see the inhuman speed of Ash skipping across the missiles. Just then... ZING! Ash slashed the Egg Mobile with the keyblade. The hovering vehicle came apart in half over the peak of the bottle...uh, mountain.

"Time you came to stop!" Ash snickered before one more swing. The keyblade became a bat and knocked Turbo into the mouth of the bottle with a huge splash. Turbo sunk in the liquid but instead of drowning since he was unconscious, he dissolved and so did the darkness that consumed him. Ash and Pikachu began to fall themselves but their fall would have a softer impact...as in soft served ice cream. SPLAT! Think it's over? Not quite, as a ball of rolled up ice cream bowled down the mountain and right back at the rest near the entrance. Ralph and Zangief stood at the starting line while the rest got the other racers out of harm's way of the ice cream ball continued to speed up.

"Borshka!" Zangief gulped. "Much bigger than bears I wrestled in Mother Russia!"

"I'll take your word for it," Ralph uttered no argument. The two braced to stop the ice cream and bail Ash. It wouldn't work. The ice cream smothered the two trying to catch it. The ice cream ball hit a dip and flew in the air just to fall and crash, spilling ice cream over the starting line and a few other areas. Ash, Pikachu, Ralph and Zangief popped out after that frosty ride. Ash couldn't help himself after a few deep breaths to say this...

"Now that's what I call a Sugar Rush!" he punned. Pikachu didn't appreciate his owner's attempt at being goofier than Goofy.

"I should Quick Attack you for that," he mulled. Donald and Zidane helped the group from their frozen custard avalanche they caused. Ash looked back out to the course, hoping to see Vanellope safe. Bad news. Evil laughter. Maleficent arrived.

"So the keyblade fool has learned a new trick," she appeared while holding the newly discovered princess. "If only you learned to stay where one belonged. Turbo's game is over...but ours continues the next time." Zidane unsheathed his daggers and rushed Maleficent.

"I'll give something that's over!" he shouted as he leaped at her. He didn't take Maleficent's wand into account as he got slapped across. He landed hard on the dirt.

"Zidane!" he cried to the downed blond before turning back...but Maleficent and Vanellope vanished. "Not again!" He palmed his face in frustration. He knew he had Vanellope protected. Vanellope wasn't fast enough to save herself from Maleficent. After sometime to recover, Donald, Goofy, Meowth and Pikachu entered the hatch where they appeared. Ash was feet away from joining when...

"Ash!" Felix called out. Ash turned around, Felix, Calhoun and Ralph reached Ash in time. "Hey, thanks for helping out with our situations. We're still in disbelief with what Turbo was doing to our machines and worlds." Ash acknowledged his praise.

"When you reach Maleficent, Wreck-It on her!" Ralph encouraged.

"And make sure Vanellope's in one piece," Calhoun urged.

"I will, Sergeant," he replied. That's when Felix brought out his hammer, willing to give it to Ash. This surprised him.

"Here, Ash," he offered. "A memento of your heroism. Mayor has more golden hammers for when I lost one but this was the one which was with Eggman. It was in the back of my mind." Ash took the hammer which suddenly transformed in a blinding light. Everyone shielded their eyes for the minute when Ash was holding another keyblade. The handle was black with a golden rod that had the claws as the prongs.

"Whoa!" Calhoun gulped. Ash got to a safe part of the Station and did some practice swings. It wasn't as heavy as the one from the Monster World but the downward swings applied some force.

"This could be useful," he felt. "Thanks a lot." With that, Ash entered to leave. A minute later, the Gummi Ship left the world, onto new adventures to find the next Heartless-infested world. "That's two princesses." Holly and Vanellope, both lost to Maleficent.

"We just need to beat Maleficent to the next princess," Goofy simplified. Donald had a question about how Ash beat Turbo.

"So, how did you take down that false king?" he wondered. "Sora help you?" Ash easily recalled himself using Quick-Time Vision.

"Kinda," he huffed. "He got me to learn Quick-Time Vision. Skipped across those missiles like stepping-stones. He did tell me to watch how I use it. I think he's saying that there may be others who could do that too." Donald awed Ash learning a move that could benefit him. Suddenly, warning sirens. "A new planet already?"

"No, we're under attack!" Goofy cried. The Gummi Ship tried to use evasive maneuvers to dodge the laser beams shooting them from multiple directions. An ambush? One tagged the ship, damage inflicted. Meowth got knocked from the floor and landing on a button on the back. Goofy and Donald gulped. That's when the ship split into three pieces. The glass fixed itself but the momentum carried Ash from view. "Ash! Pikachu!" Ash's part of the Gummi Ship became out of view. Goofy and Donald, now separated from Ash, had to regroup with the keyblade wielder. How when their ship was busted?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

(Next world, Ash, Pikachu and Meowth are going Digital with the DigiWorld. However, I'm gonna throw a wrench into what people may be expecting. Also, I wanna apologize for the Gaming world as my DVD was stolen and I never had a chance to see it so I tried to wing it. If the story does look off, now you know why.)


	8. Underground Lights, Part 1

_Chapter8: Underground Lights, Part 1_

* * *

They lost Holly, they lost Vanellope and now Ash and the two Pokémon were lost, drifting from Donald and Goofy no thanks to a sneak attack through space. On new land which looked like a city demolished by a war, Ash, Pikachu and Meowth seemed just fine after a piece of the Gummi Ship they rode on crashed. Where's Chip and Dale when you need them? Right there on the wrecked portion. "I think the saying is any landing you walk away from," Ash tried to quote. The chipmunk with the black nose hopped to Ash with an update. "What's the word, Chip?"

"Well, the Gummi Ship's not badly damaged," Chip reported. "But we can't put it back together until the rest of the ship is with us." They needed to wait for the other two.

"So now dat we're stranded on dis world, you got any bright ideas?" Meowth questioned.

"Well, the smart thing is to wait for the rest to get here," Pikachu optioned. "But if I know my partner, he'd want to explore this place, make sure Maleficent doesn't attempt a sneak attack." Like the coming of more Heartless? Obese-looking ones?

"Too late!" Ash warned as he brought out the new keyblade given to him by Felix. Shadows bum rushed the trio who were ready for some action. Ash wanted to try something with the new keyblade. He rose the keyblade before swinging it down to strike the ground. The contact summoned a wave of concrete, bowling over the Heartless and knocking them to the ground. As the shadows tried to regain ground, window dressing for the Pokémon and Ash. Slashes, strikes and shocks galore, the three neutralized the Heartless with ease. Ash examined his keyblade in shocked amazement. "Wow! So this keyblade commands the ground." You sure it's the keyblade, not you?

"That looked like Magnitude. That's the move Gary's Golem used on you." If Ash could do moves like something from another trainer, possibilities of Ash's power seem limitless. Ash still believed the keyblade had the power, not him. That's when they spotted a giant hole in front. The threesome approached cautiously. Common sense would tell them not to engage that hole.

"Any guess where dis hole leads to?" Meowth wondered. The keyblade started shimmering. To Ash, they landed on a world in need of sealing.

"No question," he concluded. "A keyhole's down here. Let's go!" Ash jumped down the cavern of a hole. Pikachu and Meowth hesitated.

"You know, it would be a wise idea to wait for those two and go in as a team, twerp." Pikachu shrugged his shoulders, expecting this from Ash.

"Patience has never been his virtue," he expressed before they joined Ash in the hole. Using the glow of the keyblade like a compass, Ash followed the direction to the new keyhole. The tunnels in down there were lit, making it easier to find where they've been. No Heartless in sight. Just then...

"Let me lay down da law, twerp!" Ash and Pikachu turned to the heated cat. "Dis keyblade business you've got isn't working for you! Two worlds you've been to and two princesses you've lost! You don't have what it takes to use something of deadly power!" This was easily pointed out since he saw the happenings. Pikachu had the urge to defend his partner.

"Ash is doing all he can to save the worlds and stop the Heartless! Besides, he doesn't deserve all the blame! Genki and his monster friends were with Holly when she was taken! And Ash and Vanellope worked together to stop Turbo from taking down Gaming Central Station! You're blaming him for being out of place when he had help with protection!" Meowth wasn't biting on what Pikachu had to say...but another creature coming to the scene out of curiosity would beg to differ.

"He's a better twerp dan anything we've just been through!" Meowth was so busy ranting on Ash, he was clueless to another cat right behind him. That cat was much whiter than Meowth with a purple/white striped tail donning a gold ring and she had yellow claw gloves. "I say give up dis keyblade business and just go home before whoever gave you dat thing gets upset!" Viewing the new cat had Ash wanting Meowth to watch what came out of his mouth.

"I'm doing all I can, but I'd keep my voice down with whatever else is in here besides the Heartless," he tried to advise. Meowth wasn't accepting Ash's word. They've been enemies for sometime.

"You'd wanna say dat because you're nothing but a useless kid...and dat's dat!" The new cat had enough of Meowth's mouth, winding up it's gauntlet for a severe...

"Lightning Paw!" it...she shouted. Meowth didn't move fast enough, if at all. CRUSH! The cat blasted Meowth in the kisser, shooting him at a wall. BOOM! Meowth hit the wall so hard, the impact wedged him in the newly made crevice. He was out for the count. Seeing the result, Ash and Pikachu stuttered in thought at what the new cat could do.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Pikachu murmured. The cat turned to the mouse and quickly got in Pikachu's fears. "And I'm next. Not good!" The cat stood, still curious to Ash.

"How did you wind up in the Digital World?" The name of the world gave Ash a little difficulty understanding how they wound up here.

"We...crashed our ship after we were attacked," he tried to explain. "But another talking cat..." This one had a harder time believing Ash.

"I wanna say okay. I mean... You're not Digidestined." Ash's face spelled obvious confusion. Did he know what the cat named off?

"I don't know what dese Digidestined are," groaned an awkwardly standing Meowth. Ash and the creatures spun to a still wobbly Meowth. "But I know dere's not enough room for two talking Meowths!" The new cat rose an eyebrow.

"Perhaps I should let you know that I'm not a Meow-whatever you are. I'm Gatomon, a Digimon." Ash and Pikachu took stock to what the new cat, Gatomon, had considered herself. Meowth? Not so much.

"I don't care if you're a new breed! You'll pay for dat cheap shot!" Meowth squeezed his paws together, claws protruding out of them. Gatomon wasn't phased. "Fury Swipes!" Meowth swung his claws but Gatomon was light on her paws, dodging nail strikes. Off one foot, Gatomon scored a shoulder tackle and rolled Meowth before shoving a gauntlet in his face. The impact was extreme...as in the Pokémon flying through pillars. One pillar stopped him and this time after collapsing...he wasn't getting up.

"I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to do that to _any_ member of Team Rocket," Pikachu huffed. Gatomon would want to ask him about what Pikachu referred to.

"Could you tell me after we regroup with TK and Kari?" A nod from Ash told Gatomon that they could proceed forward. They exited a tunnel and the cavern looked like an underground sewer, abandoning Meowth. "This way!" Soon enough, the threesome found two little kids. A blond boy was watching a brunette girl. The boy wore a green cap backwards with a blue gem in front. He also wore a green shirt with brown shorts. All that was on display about the girl was a sleeveless yellow t-shirt. The rest of her was buried in debris. The boy heard footsteps, viewing Ash, Pikachu and Gatomon, perplexed at who came by.

"Gatomon, that's not Tai!" he argued.

"I know, TK! It's at least someone older who can watch us." If the boy's TK, the girl must be Kari. Ash journeyed to the down girl. "Kari hasn't awakened yet?"

"Nope. I don't wanna wake her. I mean, her fever's died down." Kari was sick. Making sure, Ash palmed Kari's head. She was a little warm.

"She's still somewhat heated but I think it's okay," he studied. "Good work on making sure she's safe." A complete stranger complimenting a little kid? Common, perhaps...

"Thanks." Ash wanted to get to why the kids were stuck in station.

"So, what happened that brought you down here?" This should be good.

"We're fighting Mega Digimon known as the Dark Masters. When we reached the city, Kari got sick and collapsed. Tai and Izzy told me and Sora to watch over her while they looked for medicine to save her." Wait...Sora? The original keyblade master was in this world the whole time? Ash had an astonished face, thinking that the attack which split him, Pikachu and Meowth from Goofy and Donald somehow was a blessing that Ash could hand the keyblade over to him, relieving him and Pikachu to go to the Hoenn Region. That's when someone brought him back down from this excited high.

"_So, there's a Sora in this world, huh?" _Sora chimed in. Two Soras? _"You should know that I'm not where you are. Still, I sense a keyhole around there."_ A stern warning by Sora. Ash calmed down, knowing that this was a completely different Sora in this world.

"So, these Dark Masters attacked and split you and your friends up?" he guessed.

"Well, there are more friends and our older brothers, Tai and Matt," TK clarified. "Of course, that's before they fought because of what Tai saw in me. There's also Joe and Mimi and our Digimon. Right now, it's us, Sora, Tai and Izzy and our Digimon." Ash would be upset and mad at TK and Kari's older brothers for abandoning their younger siblings. Without warning, a moan from Kari. She's starting to wake up...and Pikachu knew who to blame.

"Great going, boys!" he snapped. "We just woke her up!" Her eyes opened up, a blurred vision gazing at Ash. The trainer hoped to make sure she was fit.

"Tai?" she weakly groaned. She thought Ash was her older brother.

"Sorry, Kari," Gatomon mewed. "I didn't find him yet." Kari sat up, still woozy from before. Ash then remembered something and dug in his pockets while the brunette felt lost about other items.

"Where are we? And how long was I asleep?" Obviously longer than Ash had been on this world.

"Let's just say that when we fell, I had nine lives. I'm now down to three." Ash pulled out a soda can with a lemon as the label and pulled the tab.

"Here!" he offered. "A little lemonade should help you recover." Kari looked at the can for a second before she took a swig.

"You had lemonade in your pockets?" TK gulped, thinking how warm the can must feel after being in a rather warm place for a long time. That's when ice cream spilled out of the pockets...from Diet Cola Mountain in _Sugar Rush_ back at Gaming Central Station. If it kept the lemonade cool...

"It's...a long story." He's not sure how to explain ice cream in his pockets himself. That's when flapping wings echoed from the walls.

"TK!" shouted someone else. Everyone craned their heads and watching three figures entering the scene, one being human. A redhead girl wearing a helmet and the same shirt as Kari along with jeans appeared with an orange winged piglet and a pink bird with some blue feathers around the edges. The piglet reached TK.

"You found Sora and Biyomon, huh?" he praised. The redhead, Sora and not the original keyblade wielder, circled around Ash to check Kari.

"Are you alright, Kari?" she asked in concern for the little girl. "You look much better." Kari bobbed a nod but wasn't eager to jump out of the debris blanket. She was more worried about who else could be in the sewers.

"Did you find Tai?" she wondered. Sora shook no. It was a setback.

"We must have been separated when Machinedramon attacked the building. I sure hope they're okay." This clarification warped Ash's mind to how the hole was created.

"So that explains the hole me and Pikachu jumped in after our crash landing," he theorized. Everyone shot looks at Ash, Sora now noticing him. "It's also where Gatomon found us." And kicked Meowth's tail, which was awesome!

"You're an alien?" Kari joked. Well, Ash and Pikachu weren't from this world.

"No, though we're not really from this world. I was traveling the universes with Goofy and Donald to stop Maleficent and the Heartless when we were attacked ourselves." The names lit TK's face.

"Wait...you don't mean Donald Duck and _the_ Goofy, do you?" he excitedly wanted to know. A nod from Ash would jolly the blond even more but then...

"And we'll meet them as soon as we can get outta here." Pikachu palmed his face. Again with a useless promise? That's when he realized that he didn't introduce himself. With all this happening, it just crossed his mind. "By the way, the name's Ash." Sora palmed a gloved hand on Ash, alerting him.

"Ash, thanks for keeping an eye on the kids when you did," she acknowledged. "You're not Digidestined but anything to make sure they're okay is more than enough. Thank you." Sealing it off was a kiss to the cheek, making Ash flare his cheeks in a blush. This also gave Pikachu a chance to joke.

"Brock's gonna want secrets to how you get the girls," he giggled. "Anyway, if we're vamoosing from underground, we need to move." While no one but Ash knew Pikachu, they believed him.

"I agree with the non-Digimon mouse," Biyomon beaked. "Let's go!" Sora hoisted Kari from her concrete blanket, revealing pink shorts and shoes. That's when she pulled out a brown bottle.

"By the way, Biyomon found this," she told. "It's the medicine Tai found. You can keep it if you feel sick again." Kari hugged the bottle, thankful for Tai. "He loves you. He should since you're his sister." Family... The group filed out, Ash summoning the ground-shaking keyblade for protection. This got to Kari.

"Why are you carrying a key like a sword?" she questioned. Ash had no problem with this notification.

"In case Heartless show up," he shortened. "They're shadowy figures that take hearts of people and creatures. They're also under Maleficent's commands as she searches for princesses." Sora could joke with Ash on this one.

"I don't know how much help Mimi's gonna be as a princess," she scoffed. Ash didn't crack a smile as they entered the halls. He didn't know who Mimi was but going by the pattern of the Heartless...

"I doubt it's Mimi. The Heartless attack near their targets. From all we know, you're the princess she's after." Sora shunned the thought that Maleficent would be after her.

"I don't look princess material, do I?" All Ash could do was shrug his shoulders. As they journeyed, Pikachu heard something from the distance. Grinding, rolling, spinning sounds.

"You guys hear something?" he alerted. All stopped and tuned their ears on. Before long, the sounds were bouncing in their ears.

"I do now," TK studied. "And it's coming from over there!" Destination set, the group entered a tunnel. When they passed through, they ended up in a steam room. All of the gears and machines were being controlled by hand...or body. Actually, piles of living green slime with chained anklets between eyes and mouths. Another creature in the vicinity. This one was bad news: a giant black plush teddy bear that's anything but cuddly. He had red eyes and his mouth was sewn, just not shut tight. He also wore a dark gray claw gauntlet like Gatomon's. Using a whip, the cracks scared the slime to crank the gears. Kari's eyes teared up, seeing all the slime used as slaves.

"That bear makes Ursaring look calm and composed," Ash shuttered. Of course, these were Digimon.

"I don't know about this Ursaring," the piglet huffed. "That's WaruMonzaemon, a corrupt version of Monzaemon who's as cozy as a cactus. His Bear Paw and Heartbreak Attack can really do damage." Kari couldn't bear to watch, fainting to the crisis. Sora was in the right spot to catch her.

"Kari?!" TK gasped. Ash felt the forehead. Something was off.

"It's not her fever!" he crossed off. Suddenly, she's glowing white. "Whoa!" The light alerted WaruMonzaemon to see what the glow was about.

"Digidestined?" he roared. "I don't think so!" The black bear leaped at the kids, forcing Ash to lift Kari and help with retreating. WaruMonzaemon was too big to fit through that tunnel...but blasted his way through anyway. The slime watched helplessly, still chained to their forced labor. However, Ash, Kari and their creatures re-emerged. A small pocket helped the kids get passed the bear. Kari's glow got brighter and she opened her eyes.

"Ash, put me down!" she demanded, her voice a little deeper. "I have to help the Numemon!" The slime? Ash nodded.

"We'll help, too." Ash hurdled the railings from the catwalk they were on down to the floor where he obeyed. With extra help from Pikachu and Gatomon, the Numemon were released from their slaved devices.

"You're free, Numemon!" The slime gathered around their bail-jumpers.

"Queen Kari!" they hummed. "Queen Kari!" They repeated those two words over and over. Kari smiled as her glow diminished. Shocked, Ash figured out something...and Kari was the answer.

"You're the one I need to protect from Maleficent," he concluded. Kari heard Ash and offered her hand to him which he latched. A glow emerged between the hands. What's next could be described as early to receive. A flash emerged just as Sora and TK, with their Digimon returned. They tripped in the Numemon pile but seeing Kari standing brightened their feelings. The catcalls for Kari rose eyebrows from the other two.

"Queen Kari?" they repeated the Numemon's chant. Rest wasn't long as WaruMonzaemon blasted through the wall with Gigas Shadows flanking him. The Numemon glared madly at WaruMonzaemon who was surprised to see the piles of slime freed.

"Wait a second!" he growled. "Who released you from your chains?" Ash and Kari gazed coldly to WaruMonzaemon, walking to the demonized teddy bear.

"That would be us," Ash confidently answered.

"Got a problem with it?" Kari warned. WaruMonzaemon growled more in anger.

"I'll force all of you to work!" he roared. "Bear Claw!" WaruMonzaemon swung his arm at the two. The others watched in horror.

"Kari!" Sora, TK and the Digimon shrieked.

"Ash!" Pikachu yelled. WaruMonzaemon didn't make contact. A keyblade did. The hammer keyblade smacked WaruMonzaemon in the chest and the stuffed villain flew backwards. It was glowing along with Kari and the Digimon and Pikachu began to feel a massive surge of energy.

"What's with this buildup of energy within me?!" Gatomon freaked. While Ash cocked his keyblade, TK and the girls pulled little gray devices from their pockets. The screens then the Digimon lit up...and morphed.

"Biyomon digivolve to...BIRDRAMON!" Biyomon cawed before turning to a huge bird of fire. Sweet lord!

"Patamon digivolve to...ANGEMON!" the piglet chanted before...turning to an angel? The new creature was decked in a white suit with six white wings while holding a golden rod. Long blond hair extended out of the angel's helmet and wore a blue ribbon on an arm and leg, as well as a blue loincloth.

"Gatomon digivolve to...ANGEWOMON!" mewed Gatomon before more angel wings popped out. The wings were attached to a body and a pink ribbon above it. She had blond hair, but her face was hidden by a masked helmet, much like Angemon. The body wasn't of a cat, but of a female human adult wearing a golden wing brassier attached to what seemed like a sexy white swimsuit. The left arm had an arm-lengthy glove with a wing on the wrist, while the right arm was bare, and she wore white, leg-lengthy high-heeled boots. Pikachu's jaw dropped in shock and he's the one that supplies electricity.

"They grew up?" he gulped. "And two of them are angels? I feel like I want a piece of her?" Hold your excitement, there's a battle to win.

"I think I'm in trouble," WaruMonzaemon thought. A quick shake of his cotton-filled head... "Right, I've got backup. Heartless, go!" The Gigas Shadows charged in.

"Protect Queen Kari and her friends!" one Numemon ordered. The piles pulled pink swirls of...ew! That's a potent stench.

"Nume-Sludge!" they roared as they threw the swirls of stink, splashing the Gigas Shadows repeatedly. The dark beings weren't dark anymore. Some were flailing to get the smell away from them. Birdramon saw open targets.

"Meteor Wing!" it shrieked. One flap showered the Shadows with fire, all scorched to dust and hearts escaping. Ash reeled back the keyblade.

"You need a flaming shower, yourself!" he advised as he struck the ground and kicked up the burning sludge at WaruMonzaemon. That dirty doll ducked in a poor attempt to dodge the heated stink. The angels saw a way to finish him. Angewomon's wings on her arm stretched out and a thin string emerged. She pulled the string back, an arrow of light forming. Angemon got to attack while his female counterpart charged the shot.

"Hand of Fate!" he summoned as he punched the air, a white beam shooting out at WaruMonzaemon.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon called as she let the string loose. Pikachu wasn't wanting to stay back.

"Thunderbolt!" he roared as he fired his Thunderbolt at the bear who retreated by shutting the steel door for shielding. Not enough. The joint attacks blew the door off its hinges and sent WaruMonzaemon flying away. Ash, Sora, TK and the creatures celebrated. Some of the Numemon thanked Sora and the boys with squishy cuddles.

"They're actually cute if they weren't so slimy," Sora laughed, a few Numemon swarming one of the heroes. One Numemon rode on Ash's shoulder as Pikachu climbed on the other side.

"Thanks for your help," he complimented.

"Anything for Queen Kari," the Digimon gargled. Pikachu nodded, understanding the support of these slimes. Ash turned to the rest for instructions.

"So, where do we go?" A beam of light shot from Kari where WaruMonzaemon exited from.

"Our friends are that way," she said. "The light will guide the way." Kari walked out with the piles behind her. Even Ash had to question Kari's health.

"Is anyone sure that Kari's okay to move?" Sora and TK shrugged, not quite sure what to make of the situation.

"I've seen it happen not too long ago," Angewomon remembered. "Of course, it's also when Matt, Mimi and Joe went separate ways." So it's best not to talk about it? The Digimon marched...or flew to join Kari. Sora came to Ash with something to get off her chest while Pikachu hopped off and sided with TK.

"Tai will be totally jealous," she warned herself. "But I wanna give this to you for protecting us, including the Numemon." Her gift? Another kiss...on the lips! Pikachu snickered while TK stood dumbfounded.

"First time he's been kissed twice by the same girl," the mouse joked. "It's actually a good thing Misty isn't with us. She'd steam so much, she'd vaporize an entire pool in her gym." And that's something to poke fun about, you smarmy Pokémon? Meanwhile at the landing site, Donald and Goofy had located the rest of the Gummi Ship but no Ash, Pikachu or Meowth.

"I have a sinking feeling that Ash and the Pokémon were taken away for treatment," Goofy hypothesized. "I mean, the Gummi Ship has seen better days." Chip and Dale began the fusing process to complete repairs on the ship.

"Well, if you're right, Ash must have been really banged up," Donald expanded Goofy's thoughts. Well, they're going to get their answers. Meowth struggled out of the hole with paining moans. Tifa couldn't keep him down and now Gatomon failed the same. Talk about a glutton for punishment. "Meowth?" The dog and duck helped the cat. If the Gummi Ship had seen better days, how about Meowth?

"You look like you went ten rounds with Sabin!" Meowth would want to know who Goofy mentioned if his head wasn't ringing so bad.

"Where's...the twerp...and Pikachu?" he mumbled. This troubled the two helpers. Meowth was left for dead while Ash and Pikachu gone out for adventure.

"Why those doggone kids!" Donald quacked furiously. "I'm bringing them back here!" Ditching Goofy and Meowth, Donald jumped in the hole. Not willing to leave a partner alone, Goofy cradled Meowth before going in the hole, too. Meetings aplenty but what will Ash and his new company find? Or what will find them? Maleficent, per say?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(How many people thought I'd revert to Season 1 with the original Digidestined or bust out some Ashora? Told you I'd throw a wrench in the works. Shout out to Vendetta Rage if he's still around. Just letting you know I did refresh the polls. Go and vote for the next world.)


	9. Underground Lights, Part 2

_Chapter 9: Underground Lights, Part 2_

* * *

"Kari!" shouted a young man. "Kari!" Down another tunnel were two boys, a pink mechanical ladybug and a tiny orange dinosaur. The tall boy was a brunette wearing goggles over a blue headband, a blue t-shirt and brown shorts. The other, shorter than the first, was a spiky redhead in a tangerine button-down shirt and brown shorts as well. The redhead, the dinosaur and the ladybug couldn't walk another step or flap the wings.

"Tai, we should take a break," the smaller boy advised. The taller, Tai, wasn't in the mood for resting.

"Kari!" he continued to call out. The smaller of the two and the creatures couldn't believe Tai ignored some advice to take a timeout.

"Now that's a young man determined to find his sister," The ladybug buzzed...sounding like a man. Tai finally stopped and turned to the rest, relentless of his search.

"You know Kari's sick! It's my fault she's in bad shape!" He wasn't aware that Kari's moving again and joining Ash and Pikachu. There's also the sudden romance with Ash and Sora, not the original keyblade wielder, that he could be thinking about.

"We realize that, Tai!" the dinosaur acknowledged. "But if you don't relax, you'll end up like Kari!" Getting sick? Tai turned around, wanting to give the dinosaur a piece of his mind. However, three silhouettes were fast approaching.

"We got company!" The ladybug craned its head, finding a chain-link fence with the door opened. "In there!" The foursome jumped through the gap with the silhouettes arriving, closing the door. They huddled, hoping whoever came by would just pass on through.

"Tai, lemme digivolve!"

"No, Agumon! You and Tentomon don't have enough strength to reach Champion form. We just need to wait." If they were expecting enemies to pop up, here's the shocker.

"So some girly cat pawed ya real good across the whiskers?" Goofy questioned. Tai's eyes lit up, surprised at the voice.

"Yeah and when I came around, the twerp and Pikachu had abandoned me," Meowth whined.

"Well, we can't say we feel sorry," Donald quacked. "And that's due to you sneaking in the Gummi Ship." Making the scene were Ash's companions and one stowaway that keeps finding his way on this story. Tai's eyes were ready to exit his skull in excitement.

"You've gotta be kidding!" he gulped. "I thought those were just Disney cartoon characters. No one said they actually exist!" Goofy and Donald stopped from Tai's outburst, looking around for wherever he spoke up from.

"Did you hear that, you two?" Goofy asked. Donald shot a look at his friend with a stern scorn.

"You're the one with the ears, not me!" he retorted. They resumed their stroll just as they reached the others down the hallway where Meowth spotted Tai and the other three.

"Stragglers!" he noticed. Hearing their extra cat, Goofy and Donald turned to Tai just as he and the others exited through the door and met them.

"This is a dream come true!" Tai cheered in glee. "Donald and Goofy... Man, TK and Kari will be excited to see you two together!" The redhead and the two other creatures were befuddled.

"Tai, what are you talking about?" Agumon asked. Tai geared himself to drop the knowledge on the rest.

"These are two characters created by the legendary Walt Disney along with Mickey Mouse! I remember watching them when Kari and I were younger. Heck, I'd prefer Donald over Daffy, any day!" This even surprised Meowth.

"Wow, I didn't know you were dat famous!" he mewed. The redhead didn't seem too awe-stricken with the information.

"Can we leave Warner Brothers out of this?" he argued. Tai shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway, what brings you two to the DigiWorld and where's Mickey?" he asked.

"Well, we're trying to find Ash," Goofy answered. Now even Tai was lost.

"Uh...who?"

"You're not going after Mickey?" Agumon wondered. Donald had to clarify to the boys what Goofy tried to say.

"We need Ash to help find Mickey!" he billed. Now there was some clarification with the boys. The redhead had an idea.

"Tai, let's go with them," he suggested. "There's a good chance Kari's with him." To Tai, this was a long shot but it was the best chance to find his sister.

"I think so too, Izzy," he nodded. "I hope Kari's holding well." While they left on the search for Kari, she, Ash, TK and the female Sora, not to mention the angels and creatures journeyed after fending off WaruMonzaemon. Kari's body may still be glowing but the real interesting thing was still playing out. Ash's and Sora's hands were intertwined. Pikachu, perched on TK's head, looked on with an emotion he's still trying to figure out.

"I don't know if this is a good thing or not," he shrugged. "I mean...Ash was given a 'Welcome Kiss' by Melody on Shamouti Island, then a kiss by someone but not sure if it was from the local or the Pokémon, and then...Macey. Man, that girl wanted Ash so bad, Misty's forehead became an instant boiler. Now, my partner in crime has another redhead that looks like a much friendlier Misty." The whole scene with the interlocked couple had exhausted Pikachu mentally.

"I know how you feel, little warrior," Angewomon comforted. "Soon, Tai and Izzy will be back with the rest of us, hopefully in time to fight Machinedramon." The sooner this world was treated, the sooner Ash could get separated from Sora so that they could look for Sora. Two Numemon squirmed on the pathway, something disturbing them.

"Queen Kari, we have an urgent situation," one Numemon stuttered. Kari, her light dimming a bit, deserved to know what was bothering the slimy critters.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"We found a strange hole over there," the other gurgled. Could it be the keyhole? The Numemon led the way until they found two knight helmets on Gigas Shadows. Behind them was the keyhole. No one said that this was easy.

"What's the plan, trainer?" Angemon questioned. Ash studied his surroundings while they hid behind a demolished wall.

"This is my job," he proclaimed. "This is how you take care of a Heartless. Ready to go, buddy?" Pikachu fluffed a nod, warmup for when Maleficent pops back up. Ash palmed the broken wall but Sora placed her hand over before he hurdled.

"Please be careful," she wished. Ash nodded to Sora as well before jumping the low wall. He strutted to the helmeted couple. Ash summoned the keyblade from the Monster World.

"I think the heavy hitter should do quick work." The Shadows raced in as Ash held the weighed keyblade with both hands. Pikachu had an idea.

"Ash, use that Fire spread technique," he offered. "You know, that move you did against Leon?" Ash thought back to how he used that ability back in Twilight Town in his spar. That technique when he chased a fireball in the air and batted down a rain of flames. This was a good time to practice but when he swung the keyblade up, a giant snowflake rose, not a fireball. Not willing to argue, Ash made the best use of it by chasing and batting the flake. That's when things took an odd turn. Instead of a rain of snowflakes, the lone flake splat the ground but somehow created a wave of icicles shooting up from the ground. The Gigas Shadows tried to stop and retreat but the icicles skewered them. However, no blood spurted out. The two poof and hearts flew to the sky. All who saw it were surprised, including the wielder himself as he examined his weapon.

"I'm beginning to think that different keyblades have unique traits. I can only wonder what the keyblade from here will do." The trainer pointed the keyblade toward the keyhole. The beam fired from the weapon. The click shot the door for the Heartless to enter the DigiWorld. The keyhole disappeared. Ash could breathe a sigh of relief but he knew this was too soon. He returned to the rest, noticing Sora clutching something. "Sora, what's in your hands?" The eldest looked at her mitts, revealing a tag which had a heart carved in a red plate.

"This?" she guessed. One point from Ash... "It's my crest. Each Digidestined has a crest." Do all have hearts on their crests like Sora's? Nope. TK and Kari revealed their crests, each having a different carving. TK's crest was bleach yellow and carved like a sun and a huge wave of light shooting down or a pedestal holding the sun in place. Kari's crest was pink with the carving of an eight-point star. "TK has the Crest of Hope, Kari's with the Crest of Light and I have the Crest of Love." Now it made sense about why Kari was shining brighter than...well, anything in this world so far.

"You see, Tai has the Crest of Courage," TK listed. "My brother has the Crest of Friendship, Izzy has the Crest of Intelligence, Mimi has the Crest of Sincerity and Joe has the Crest of Reliability." Ash was intrigued with what the Digidestined obtained.

"I can only wonder what my crest would be like if I was one of you," he scoffed. "Let's see... Crest of Determination... Crest of Confidence..." The Digidestined laughed at Ash's thoughts of himself being one of them.

"You're funny, dude," Pikachu chuckled. All that laughter stopped with Kari's light shining once again. This alerted everyone to wonder the deal.

"Kari?" TK wondered. She wasn't fainting. Far from that, she sensed something.

"Tai!" she jumped. "Izzy, they're coming!" Ash looked back, no silhouettes spotted.

"Where?" Sora questioned. Ash raced behind the Digidestined and Digimon for any straggling Heartless or Tai and Izzy.

"Below us!" False alarm on Ash's part. Now how to get below? Suddenly, the floor was shaking. Earthquake? No, a giant steel fin like a shark ripped the ground. The support was destroyed and the kids fell. Luckily, the Digimon caught them before they dropped and got injured. Not the case for Ash. He fell as well but landed on his feet below, collapsing on a knee for his own support...right in front of Tai, Izzy, Goofy, Donald and the other creatures.

"Ash!" Goofy and Donald cried out in relief, dashing over to their keyblade partner. Meowth stood back. He's still bitter about being unattended. The Digimon descended with the Digidestined, including a glowing Kari. She spotted the other brunette.

"Tai!" she yelled. Tai's face lit up, not the same way Kari's body did.

"Kari!" he cried back as he cleared debris and ran to meet up with his sister. He hugged her so tightly, Kari understood how much her brother had to endure while her glow diminished. Izzy sighed in relief, seeing Kari in a better state than before.

"She made it!" he smiled. However, Joy Time had to wait. Coming back around, a huge dinosaur-like robot with cannons mounted on its back and razor-sharp claws approached.

"Guess we can't relax just yet!" Ash alerted.

"You're right, Machinedramon is on the approach," Birdramon cawed. Seeing the giant Digimon ready to strike, it was now or never to strike. "Let's work together on this!" The angels nodded, ready to help out. "Meteor Wing!" The flap of Birdramon's wings produced more fire.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon cried out her attack, firing an arrow of light from a bow from her winged glove.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon roared as he punched a beam of light. All three attacks struck Machinedramon, kicking up a pillar of fire. When the fire dissipated, Machinedramon was still there, not a dent on it.

"It's a Mega Digimon!" Izzy notified the rest. "Our Digimon are too weak!" Proof was coming fast.

"_**Giga Cannon!" **_Machinedramon buzzed as it shot spheres of energy, slamming at the airborne Digimon. All three were down, hurt badly. Ash stood, ready to deal. Machinedramon wasn't impressed. **_"You're not Digidestined! You have no Digimon!" _**That's when it noticed the hammering keyblade in Ash's hands. _**"I see now. You're the one a veil of darkness computed me to. I don't need some drones to stop you when I can dispatch you myself. Giga Cannon!" **_Another blast and this one was at Ash. Sora's fears rose that Ash would be killed by a giant.

"Look out Ash!" she wailed. Ash didn't budge to evade. Instead, he took a batting stance. This was a giant fastball heading to bean Ash but he wasn't getting knocked to next week. CRACK! The keyblade smashed the attack right back at Machinedramon who wasn't moving fast enough. BOOM! The huge explosion and concussive blast spun Machinedramon back several feet on its back. Ash nonchalantly placed the keyblade on his shoulder.

"Why must I clean up the messes Maleficent leaves behind?" he flustered as Machinedramon got back up.

"I doubt I could do that, let alone that easily," Tai stuttered. "I play soccer, not baseball! I swear that looked like a Sammy Sosa swing!" As Machinedramon returned, it was swarmed by green. The Numemon army came on the attack, no doubt trying to protect their queen.

"_**What do you think you're doing, Numemon?" **_Machinedramon asked. The giant machine was covered in the swarm, Kari not liking what was to come.

"Numemon, no!" she whined loudly. No avail.

"_**Dragon Claw!" **_One swipe of its arm and the Numemon were thrown off, disintegrating altogether. But then the remains flew to Ash and started to glow white in his hands.

"_Ash, thank you and Queen Kari!" _a distant Numemon spoke. _"We offer you our strength!"_ Ash's keyblade vanished but it was about to get replaced. A new keyblade formed, white with the symbol of Sora's crest as the hilt and guard. The shaft looked like the pillar symbol from TK's crest and six prongs protruded out in the same shape as Kari's crest if the star was split in half. Holding it in one hand, Ash realized that the new keyblade was a feather: very light to hold. The light from Kari, the hope from TK, the love from Sora and now the strength from the deceased Numemon... Ash knew what to do.

"A new keyblade from the remains of those slimy creatures?" Donald gulped. Ash pointed his newly acquired keyblade at Machinedramon.

"Let's go!" he growled. The keyblade started to glow brighter and brighter. So was Kari.

"_**That new toy won't help you!"**_ the giant machine confidently scoffed. **_"Giga Cannon!"_** Machinedramon fired more of his cannon shots at Ash, but none hitting. Ash vanished just before a shot sniped him. Instead, he and Pikachu scaled the mammoth Digimon with ease. Another cannon-shot hit Goofy's shield but that threw him back over the rest.

"Goofy!" Tentomon buzzed in concern. Ash reached the top of Machinedramon's head, keyblade still armed.

"Hi!" he teased. The cannons extended to point at Ash, directly pointing at its head. Viewing the cannons, Ash didn't waiver. "You won't be able to use those anymore." Machinedramon wasn't satisfied.

"_**I cannot be affected by my attack!" **_it informed. In other words, shooting itself in the face wouldn't work. Still, it never bothered Ash.

"That wasn't what I mean." The cannons sheared off and slammed the ground. The cannons disintegrated and Machinedramon was down a pair of weapons. Pikachu jumped to the air.

"I don't know why you wanna do this but here!" he squeaked as he fired Thunderbolt at the new keyblade. It didn't harm Ash. It did power the keyblade. So let's see what new abilities this keyblade can do. The normal keyblade dispersed the attack like a rain while the Monster World's keyblade made pillars of what element was used at the moment. This keyblade made contact with Machinedramon and zapped its entire body. Tai looked on in awe, not realizing the pain coursing through Agumon. A grunt alarmed the brunette.

"I've got power in me!" he cringed. "Lemme digivolve!" An orange glow lit Tai's chest as he pointed a device at the orange dinosaur. "Agumon Warp Digivolve to...WARGREYMON!" Agumon morphed to an orange robot-like creature with metal claws and pipes sticking out of its chest. The head had a helmet with red hair sticking out of the back. It looked almost human. The new creature raced at Machinedramon that was billowing black from the chassis. SLASH! WarGreymon carved through an immobile Machinedramon and carried Ash and Pikachu to safety off the hostile giant. Machinedramon recovered from the stun, turning as WarGreymon morphed down to a pink head with paper-thin long ears.

"Koromon!" Tai called out as Ash picked the head up. Tai thought Koromon was in trouble.

"_**What a waste that was!" **_the steel monster coldly mocked. **_"Now you'll be destroyed." _**Koromon wasn't one to say it failed.

"You missed what I did to you as WarGreymon," it...or he reminded. "I sliced you like an onion!" Ash stuck his thumb at his throat, swiped it across and then pointed the thumb down.

"Consider yourself dismantled," he finished. That's when Machinedramon started coming apart. The claws, the head, the body, the legs...all cut in pieces. Every chunk of Machinedramon disintegrated to nothing. It was all over. Ash, Pikachu and Koromon returned to the rest. Donald and Sora were the first to greet them over.

"Boy, what are we gonna do the next time we feel like you're in a pinch?" Donald quacked. Ash shrugged his shoulders. To him, he was perfectly fine the entire time. Maybe it was the support of the angels.

"Hey, any help is okay with me, Don." Sora giggled while Kari and TK greeted themselves to Goofy. Ash looked at the keyblade, remains of Numemon linger. He further examined the keyblade and noted the shapes like the prongs. "Light..." Next was the shaft. "Hope..." Finally, the hilt. "Love..." Three symbols from the Digidestined. Just then, the area was quaking. Izzy knew why.

"Machinedramon's destroyed!" he remembered. "The area's unstable!" Because of one Digimon's death?

"It's time to scram from under here!" Meowth yelled. No one wanted to argue, their lives on the line by standing in place. Everyone raced to evacuate the sewers. A few minutes later, the sewers caved in...but everyone escaped. A sense of relief lofted for all. After a minute to calm down, Tai finally had his chance to meet with the trainer.

"Ash?" he spoke. Ash turned to meet with Kari's brother. "Kari told me that you and TK made sure her fever was in check. Thank you." Ash and Tai shook hands. TK and Kari, along with Pikachu, Patamon and Gatomon were praying toward a cross made of small pieces of steel. The cross was for the Numemon that died protecting their young queen. Ash and Tai came over to help console the younger ones when Ash's hand began to glow. He sensed a presence. He jumped ahead of Tai and after Kari.

"Duck!" he shouted. Kari looked back, seeing the glowing hand. She crouched as Ash swung the keyblade that quickly popped up. It hit something. That something was someone. That someone was Maleficent as she was knocked back and hit a wall. She hit the dirt hard. Ash stood, his keyblade aimed at the downed villain. Maleficent looked up, shocked that Ash stopped her from taking the princess of this world, this case being Kari.

"Did da twerp just stop da witch?" Meowth gulped.

"That's what it looked like," Goofy shuttered in fear. Maleficent slowly rose to her feet under her cloak.

"Not today," Ash denied her. Maleficent was humored. Shouldn't she be upset or mad that Ash prevented the same thing that happened with Vanellope and Holly?

"So Sora's descendant has learned his lesson," she cackled. "You win this battle...however, the war continues. I will soon fulfill what Ansem failed to do." That name... Donald said that name. Ash had to figure out what the plan was.

"Tell me the purpose. Why Holly? Why Vanellope? Why Kari?" Maleficent just sneered.

"In due time, little boy." In a cloud of smoke, Maleficent disappeared. Ash had to wonder Maleficent's deviant ploy. However, he sighed in comfort. Kari was the target and Ash knew she was the one to protect like the Numemon before. Speaking of, that's where Ash gaze at.

"You okay?" Kari bobbed a nod. Ash was astonished...but at himself. 'I can't believe I actually called that. I could only wish I had stopped her from taking the others. Maybe I can stop her from taking the rest.' Sora came up to Ash, upset. Was she wanting to get taken by Maleficent for Ash to rescue?

"Who's Sora?" she asked. Ash knew she wasn't questioning about herself.

"That Sora held the keyblade as he tried to stop the Heartless before I became the new carrier." The moment Ash said "he," Sora realized that this wasn't another female Sora and chuckled.

"A guy had that, huh?"

"Yep. He had it. Now I do." Grateful to know that gender confusion cleared up, she palmed his head and scuffed up his hair.

"Well anyway, you need to go after her and save the rest. After all this, can you come back? Maybe we can go out on a date." How often does one character get hit on by another in one setting? Tai wasn't liking this while Meowth gawked in amazement.

"Sora!" he whined in jealousy. Just like Sora predicted... "Why him?!" She smirked at Tai, not phased by the upset holder of the Crest of Courage.

"Easy...he knows what to do in a situation." Twisting her head back, she wanted Ash to remember her. "Here's one more for the road!" One more kiss... Ash closed his eyes, taking in the warm feeling of Sora's lips. Tai crumpled in defeat. He had feelings for Sora but he lost out to someone who came on accident.

"Maybe Ash should stay here and marry Sora," Pikachu teased. Meowth couldn't help but agree.

"Da way dose two act, da twerp's more mature dan Jessie and dat's saying a lot," he mewed. Soon, Ash, Goofy, Donald and the Pokémon said their farewells to the Digidestined and Digimon. All had work ahead of them. Chip and Dale greeted the travelers and an even bigger Gummi Ship.

"Whoa!" Ash gasped. "You guys were busy!" Chip thanked Ash for the compliment.

"We added a resting room for you to recover," he squeaked. After what happened here, a good rest sounded ideal. All boarded the Gummi Ship which lifted off, heading back to space as Sora watched on. A tear trickled down her face. She closed her eyes.

"Ash, I want to love you," she whispered a wish. On the Gummi Ship's cockpit, Ash's eyes were also shut. He wondered about something. Goofy had a guess as he joined him in the room. What about Donald and the Pokémon?

"You thinking about that Sora who kissed you, hyuk?" he pondered. Ash opened the eyes.

"Is what she did..." he urged to ask. "Was that what love is?" Goofy was correct in his guess.

"Gwarsh! What's the best way to put it?" A real delicate subject, Goofy made his attempt to explain love toward someone who's practically alone...physically. "Well, it's one way... Love is...when two people feel like there's a bond. You and that Sora look like there's something between you two." Ash's thoughts eased up. Love sounds so easy to understand. "If you love her, take her up on the offer. Just keep in mind that love can't be rushed." A soft chuckle from Ash was a sign that he understood the dog helping him.

"Thanks, Goof." The mutt rested his head on his hands like they were a small pillow. He fell fast asleep. "Guess I still have a lot to learn about it...but let's tackle the next world." The Gummi Ship sped ahead. Ash is on the hunt to save Sora and the princesses...but there's one more Sora in his life. Her love... Her Crest of Love... To Ash, it may not be a coincidence she held the crest. "Maybe...one day..." New adventures awaited Ash, Goofy, Donald and the Pokémon. Ash hopes that he can repeat his performance the next time.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(Har ye mateys! Ye next world will be Pirates of the Caribbean! I did hint that Locke's going to be here, but I'm gonna had a character from Peter Pan in this. Can you guess who?)


	10. Seaworthy Thieves, Part 1

_Chapter 10: Seaworthy Thieves, Part 1_

* * *

Ash never felt this confident after his pseudo-solo trip through the DigiWorld. Not only did he stop Maleficent from taking Kari away but the female Sora has fallen for him. You could bet she's still on his mind. Traveling through space in their rebuilt Gummi Ship, new adventure awaited he, Goofy, Donald and the two Pokémon. "Maybe I should see someone else who knows what love's all about," Ash plotted. Donald groaned in irritation.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" he angrily quacked. "We know what you're going through! You've said it about a hundred times!" At some point, Ash should have stayed focused on the task at hand. Goofy pulled out the monitor where he saw a world that caught his ire. The odd thing about it was there was Heartless threat level was minutely low according to the screen.

"Why not stop by Port Royal for a while," he suggested. "It's on the way and Locke's also there as well." Ash and Donald bobbed nods.

"Since Maleficent's probably licking the wounds I gave her," Ash chuckled. "Why not..." The Gummi Ship descended on the new world. The ship found the dock to what seemed like a historic town, it docked by the edge of the pier. The three and the Pokémon jumped out and explored the port town.

"It feels like we've been sent back in time," Meowth awed. "Wait until Jessie and James hear about dis place." No one wanted to argue, impressed with the sightings of the new land.

"Reminds me of Shamouti Island a little with the buildings." The traveling group entered further in town when...

"Excuse me!" voiced a man from somewhere. The crew looked for the voice but Pikachu looked up.

"You need something, sir?" he squeaked. Looking at where Pikachu was staring at, the rest turn to a man with braided dark brunette hair covered in a red bandanna and wearing some clothes that looked like they've been soaked and never ironed. He did have a remarkable goatee.

"What are a bunch of animals doing with a boy? Seems odd, definitely not something you come across in Singapore." It's not a place that the trainer from Pallet Town would know. "Anyway, can you help me out of here? These coats accuse me of being a pirate. I mean...I _am_ a pirate to say the least but I haven't really done any pirating recently." Hold on... He was arrested for being a pirate and even though he admits to being a pirate, he's claiming innocence. An eyebrow rose on Ash's face. He wasn't too sure on how to approach his problem.

"I wonder if he's from Pittsburgh," he thought. Goofy quacked a believed Ash was joking.

"No, he's a real pirate, not a baseball player," Donald corrected. "That also excludes Oakland and Tampa." Now learning about the man being a real pirate, Ash had another recalling moment.

"Well, if we're talking about real pirates, it reminds me of those who tried to take that one school of Lapras." A moment Meowth cringed at.

"Don't remind me," he snarled. "I still have Tentacruel stings from dere. And dose _weren't_ really pirates. Dose were poachers." Interesting point, one Ash considered.

"I am a real pirate who was thrown off his ship by Barbossa and had to come to shore," the pirate confessed. "I'll soon be hanged for my work." Since this man was a pirate, they chose to leave him alone. They weren't willing to negotiate with a pirate. Walking a little more, Ash smelled smoke. It was close.

"Does anyone else smell that?" he asked. Pikachu and Goofy had a good scent and turned to a house.

"I can smell it from over there!" Goofy pointed out. Was there a fire? Ash had a hunch it was and entered the building. Turns out the fire was from a cauldron. The house's walls were stacked with weapons from cannons to swords of all sorts. "Someone wants to be armed to the teeth...but I'm happy with my shield, thank you." Ash plucked one sword, a rapier, studying the blade.

"This could do some serious hurt if it's not wielded properly." A note Pikachu clarified.

"You're in possession of the keyblades and yet you swing those around with wild abandonment," he snipped. Unaware to Ash and his Pokémon, a young man in fatigues approached with another rapier aimed at Ash from behind.

"What are you doing here?" he called out. Ash and Pikachu froze while the rest turned to the rather dashing young brunette man with a paper-thin mustache. Ash put the sword back to the wall and rose his hands. The man seemed humored. "No need to raise your arms. I do not attack children indiscriminately." Breathing a sigh of relief, Ash lowered his hands.

"Sorry," he apologized. "We smelled smoke and came in to investigate." The man sheathed his rapier, showing peace. "Did you make these swords?" The man checked around, making sure all weapons were accounted for.

"Not all of them. I'm a blacksmith-in-training, Will Turner." Ash and Will shook hands. Good signs coming their way?

"Ash Ketchum and Pikachu." The mouse focused back to the pirate held in prison.

"Anyway, when we arrived," he spoke, spooking Will. Watching the slight jump, Ash realized that he didn't prepare the apprentice of a blacksmith about who or what came with. "Sorry. A magician did this to me. Anyway, we saw a pirate who seemed to want out." Will shook a finger and his head.

"Of course, Jack Sparrow will try to plead for freedom," he snorted. "He's one of the reasons I wanted to be a blacksmith...to kill those pirates who took my father away." Revenge... Ash bowed his head.

"I know what it's like not to have a dad around," he shared in sadness. Will showed sympathy, petting Ash in the head.

"So I'm not alone. Let me get some food." All joined Will to dine. Outside, a huge ship with black sails approached the docks. Men in red coats hiding on watch towers knew something bad was docking.

"Pirates!" one realized. "Sound the alarm!" Another did by winding a horn which wailed a disturbing noise. The captive pirate saw the ship, hoping this was his ticket out of this hole.

"There's my Black Pearl," he named. "Barbossa..." The alarm got Will to prepare for combat. Ash and the rest tried to wonder about details.

"What's going on?" Ash wondered. Will checked his sheath. He had a sword. He was ready

"Pirates!" he informed. "They're here!" Ash summoned the keyblade forged from the remains of Numemon back in the DigiWorld.

"Let us help!" Will wasn't wanting kids getting hurt fighting these characters.

"No, stay here! Keep an eye on the weapons!" With that, Will raced out to a brawl of clashing swords and cannon fire. Ash wanted to get in on the action. The fighting outside wanted him to help Will.

"Ash, there wasn't any real Heartless threat when I scanned it," Goofy reminded. "It's not our place to get involved." It still hurt Ash to feel unneeded. Suddenly, a young blond woman in a golden gown bolted open the door before closing it back up.

"Weapons!" she stammered. There's a whole room full of them. She raced to the other side and pulled the same rapier that Will told Ash to put back. She faced the door as pirates in ragged clothing bashed down the doors. "Back off!" Ash was ready to defend her from these water-logged warriors. One charged at the woman but Ash put a thrust in his path, shot in the stomach. The pirate reeled back a few steps as his backup tagged himself in, his sword, a cutlass, over his head. His downward swing was blocked, denied by Ash's keyblade and shoved to the side. One pirate gazed at the woman, spotting a gold medallion around her neck. The gold medallion had a skull carving flanked by eight triangles.

"Hold on!" he called to his partner. "She has a piece!" The partner looked over to the woman as well.

"By god, a piece of the Aztec gold!" he identified. Ash had his keyblade trained but became suspicious when they lowered their swords. "State your name, woman!" Ash turned to the blond, still feeling frightened.

"E-Eliza...beth...Turner!" she stuttered. She's a Turner as well? The two pirates wondered about the name.

"Did Bootstraps have a daughter?" one pirate asked? "I heard he had a son." The other pirate thought nothing of detail.

"We may need you for this task," he ordered. "But you must invoke the code. You must invoke Parley to save this town!" Ash thought of a way to stop the violence in Port Royal. The blond, forced to a corner, ran out of options.

"Pa- Parley!" Elizabeth shouted. Ash couldn't believe how easy she surrendered.

"You wanna give up?" he jumped.

"I want to speak with their captain and stop the bloodshed." Ash pondered something. "So I invoke the right of parley. According to the Code of the Brethren, you have to take me to your captain! If an adversary demands parley, no harm can be done until parley's resolved." Ash thought about the code. He also remembered back at Gaming Central Station.

"If that's the case then Goofy, Donald and I will invoke the code of Parley! We have information that I think the captain may take into consideration." Now the pirates had more to handle.

"This information you speak of," one of the two pondered. "Does this have anything to do with the gold?" A stern nod from Ash told the pirates he could be of use.

"Very well," the other pirate acknowledged. "No harm will be enforced on the boy, this Goofy and Donald and to Miss Turner. This way!" The pirates started to escort the group when Pikachu wanted to stay with Ash.

"Are you outta your mind?" he argued. The partner had a plan for this.

"You and Meowth find Will and update him that we've been taken," he instructed. "We'll be fine. I'm banking on Locke to help us out." That's the plan? The Pokémon could only watch as the pirate dragged Ash, Donald, Goofy and Elizabeth from the building and eventually from the town on the ship. They were now prisoners. Once the pirates left the town, Pikachu and Meowth toured the town now in shambles. Finding Will knocked out after an hour of searching, Meowth had an idea.

"Let's wake him up," he mewed the obvious. Pikachu objected to a method.

"I'm not shocking him awake!" he argued. "It's not like he deserves it." Their bickering was enough as Will groaned. He opened his eyes and sat up. "I guess that works too." Spinning around and viewing the Pokémon, Will looked disheveled.

"Where are they?" he asked. The two Pokémon weren't sure who Will referred. "Ash and his duck and mutt..." Clarified, Meowth answered for both.

"Dey were taken by da pirates after saying 'Code of parley,'" he informed. "And dey also got some girl dat wore a coin around her neck." Will blinked. This girl...

"Was the girl...Elizabeth?"

"Yeah, she called herself, Elizabeth Turner," Pikachu replied. Will knew something was wrong.

"She's a Swann, not a Turner! She's the governor's daughter!" This was a real problem. Pikachu was without his friend and now the pirates have someone who wasn't what they were after. "I'm gonna regret doing this." The Pokémon joined Will as he made his way to the jail. Inside, the pirate who viewed the ship arriving and departing. The pirate gazed at Will and the Pokémon.

"What a surprise!" he snorted. "I saw your fight with Barbossa's men. It wasn't pretty." Will sensed hatred from the pirate's sleek tone.

"You're familiar with them, Jack?" The prisoner scoffed.

"They're me old men until that bastard overpowered me and the crew. You sense bitterness within me...not like aged rum stored below the Pearl's deck." That's one pirate that loves the liquor.

"Jack, my friends were taken," Pikachu pleaded. Jack now peered at the yellow mouse, amused that he could talk.

"That wouldn't be the boy in blue with the overgrown dog and duck. And to think it's from this little rascal." Pikachu growled a warning to Jack to back off.

"The mouse, the cat and I need your help," Will added. "They've taken Elizabeth, the governor's daughter." Jack huffed a laugh, surmised with Will grovel as he strut around his cell.

"Why, oh why should I let me-self to you? Huh?" Will was easily frustrated with Jack's mocking. Still, he continued to maintain composure.

"Because you're the only one I know who can navigate the seas. I cannot turn to anyone else." This notion made Jack think. "Think about it...Captain Jack Sparrow. Barbossa has what we want: Elizabeth, Ash and your ship." Jack threw his arms up, seemingly surrendering to the demand.

"Alright...deal. You break me out, I'll commandeer a ship to follow Barbossa, I get my Pearl, you get yours." Will grinned, trusting his instincts to listen.

"Okay, give me a minute. I know these locks." Will went to work picking on the cell door's keyhole.

"How so?" Meowth asked. Was he the Locke in disguise?

"I made them." Interesting answer. Soon, the cell opened.

"Gather whatever weapon you need. I'll fetch us a vessel." Both left the jail to get what they need to have taking on Barbossa's men. On the ship far out at sea, Elizabeth pranced around in fluster as Ash leaned on the iron bars holding the two, Goofy and Donald.

"This is just brilliant!" she growled. "Not only am I on a pirate ship but I have a boy joined with walking animals! As if my life wasn't already tortured enough!" By her anger, she had endured a bit of stress. "I nearly drowned after my corset was dressed too tight on me after James proposed to me...but that seemed like the easy parts when I'm here now." Donald was annoyed by Elizabeth's constant ranting.

"Would you calm down for a minute?" the duck quacked. Elizabeth turned her anger right at the duck, more seethed to the fowl.

"Oh! And you think you know a way out of our situation? We're prisoners to a crew of rebellious sailors on the scourge of plunder! It'll take more than _calming down_ to save our skins!" Talk about adamant to the issue at hand.

"We know, Liz!" Ash barked up. "Besides, Will won't be too proud of his sister or cousin being kidnapped." Elizabeth's eyebrow twitched. She slapped her face hard, shocked that Ash believed she was a Turner and not what Will actually knew, her being a Swann.

"Oh my lord..." It was a blunder she started. She needed to clean the mess. "I panicked. They saw the medallion that Will wore eight years ago when the ship I rode on to Port Royal came across him floating. My real name is Elizabeth Swann, daughter of Governor Weatherby Swann who brought us from England for new lands. That day, we found Will as the only survivor of what appeared to be a pirate raid on ship remains. I held the medallion out of fear that he would be labeled as a pirate and hanged." The boys started getting a clue on what they entered. A young woman's snap decision to take the medallion from Will was an act to spare his life. Even Goofy was moved by Elizabeth's motive.

"So Will holds a special place with you?" he questioned. Elizabeth nervously itched her hair, rather embarrassed.

"I...guess you could say that." Ash could ask about any relationship between her and Will. He wouldn't get an opportunity off the bat. A pirate entered the cell and reached the bars.

"Hey, boy!" he called out to Ash. The young man gazed to the pirate. "You have information for Captain Barbossa, is that right?" Ash fluffed a nod, confirming his suspicion. The pirate opened the cage, allowing Ash to exit.

"I'll be back," he promised. Hours must have passed because night had fallen. An overcast shielded the moon from shining on the boat. The pirates were scattered over the boat, doing what they could in maneuvering the vessel. The pirate guiding Ash reached what had to have been the Captain's Quarters.

"Captain Barbossa, I've brought someone with information about the treasure!" Was Barbossa asleep?

"Enter!" an old man grumbled. The pirate opened the door and sitting at a table was a large but lean brunette man in black with a scruffy brown beard. This was Barbossa? On his shoulder was a tiny monkey. The man was skeptical about Ash. "This boy?"

"Aye! The lad had spoke of the Code! Claims to have information about the Aztec gold we retrieved." Did Ash really know about the treasure? Or was it a ruse just to board the ship?

"I've heard plenty on the Aztec gold." Still, what this boy had to say could benefit them in the long run. "Leave us in private."

"Aye, captain!" The pirate closed the door, giving Ash and the captain some alone time.

"Quite a stern crew you have working this late," Ash pointed out. He saw some fruit as he approached a chair across from where the captain sat. "You don't mind if I..."

"Go right ahead," the captain allowed. "First time I've had children on the Black Pearl." Was that so?Ash snagged and bit at a pear. "Now as I hear, you have information about the treasure we've absconded from those in the port town?"

"I do. You see, there's a treasure hunter lying in wait and he's gonna take your treasures as soon as we reach wherever we're going." This humored the captain. He thought Ash was joking around.

"Trying to pull a prank on good ol' Hector Barbossa, aren't we? Even if what you say is true, this 'treasure hunter' would be in over his or her head." Ash was now the one with suspicion. As he tried to listen, sounds of something slamming on glass diverted him to gaze at a lantern shaking. Sure a ship like this wasn't the most stable but even then the waves weren't _that_ choppy. Barbossa saw where Ash eyed. "That has been quite a racket ever since she boarded me ship." She? A closer look revealed a tiny ponytail blond in a strapless green gown and skirt with green slippers decorated with white cotton balls. The most interesting about this little woman was the transparent butterfly wings. "Regardless, a fine find to add." Tapping in Ash's head, Sora "saw" the little winged girl, shocked at who this was.

"_Tinker Bell?" _he gasped. _"What the heck is she doing away from Neverland?" _The notice of Tinker Bell was a problem for Sora. Ash chose not to say anything. After all, it would look weird for Ash in front of Barbossa to be talking to himself. In that matter, he resumed the subject of the gold.

"Anyway... what about the treasure that would hurt him than make him rich?" he asked as he continued to munch on the pear. Barbossa saw a break in the clouds, the moon shimmering from the rim of one.

"The treasure once belonged to Hernán Cortés, a magnificent conquistador," he rambled. "His greed for gold was unbound which made the Aztec Empire concern. Cortés' stone chest, filled to the brim with 882 pieces of their gold, was cursed by the Heathen Gods. Our greed got the best of us as we sail these oceans." A piece of the moon peeked out. It was time for Barbossa to show Ash what he meant. "Come. You will learn the truth." Ash stood and let Barbossa pass for him to follow out the door. The moon shone down on the ship but nothing on it was pretty. What Ash saw nearly gave him a heart attack. Instead of the pirates, skeletons moved around as if they substituted for those working on the deck. Was this the curse from the Aztec gold? "Son, have you heard of ghost stories?" Ash didn't want to turn to Barbossa but he had to see what else the curse has done. He'd wish he kept his peepers from seeing the captain. Barbossa was a skeleton himself. "Well...you're in one now!" Barbossa left off a cackle, followed by the crew of the Black Pearl. Why did Ash think it was a good idea to join Elizabeth on the ship? A feared growl breathed out of the trainer. He entered a moment where he could be part of the crew...beyond life. Backup of Jack, Will and the Pokémon were trailing as much as possible. Pikachu looked out from starboard of their hijacked vessel, hoping his best friend would be okay.

"Hang on, Ash..." he muttered. "We're coming." The two ships were heading for one destination. Was Ash correct that Locke would wait for the chance to steal the Aztec gold? Could Ash rescue everyone alive from Barbossa's bony grips?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	11. Seaworthy Thieves, Part 2

_Chapter 11: Seaworthy Thieves, Part 2_

* * *

The Black Pearl held a secret that Ash could not have seen coming. Aside from himself, Donald, Elizabeth and Goofy, the ship's crew were skeletal beings under moonlight. Barbossa and the crew of the Black Pearl, allegedly Jack's ship, stole the cursed Aztec gold and paid the price by becoming the undead. Returning to the cages, one pirate escorted Ash to regroup with the rest of those untouched by the curse. "Thanks for volunteering to move the gold when we reach land," he acknowledged. He opened the cell door and Ash was back with the rest. He still felt disturbed seeing Barbossa and the crew's look under the moon.

"Where are we heading?" Goofy wondered. Ash turned to the rest, information learned.

"Well, we're stopping at Isla de la Muerta," he explained. "Barbossa and his men are transporting the accursed Aztec gold to relieve themselves of the curse they brought on." Elizabeth shuttered at the thought of their destination.

"_Isla de la Muerta_..." she repeated. "Island of the Dead. It's off the coast of Mexico." That's when Donald remembered Ash mentioning a curse.

"Did you say that the gold was...cursed?" he quacked. A quick nod spooked the duck. This curse wasn't wanting detail shared to those who've been waiting below deck. There was more detail and with Elizabeth pacing around in fear, Ash relayed more information.

"By the way, I found Tinker Bell in Barbossa's cabin," he whispered. "I have an idea how to bail her out." Donald and Goofy intently leaned in, wanting to know the plan. "Liz and I will be with Barbossa as we deliver the gold back to it's rightful place. You two can sneak in, clock a couple of guys out if you need to, and open the lantern on his desk." Easy to follow out but Donald was a touch worried.

"What about you?"

"I'm helping the pirates with the gold. It'll help me keep an eye on Liz should Maleficent decide to pop up. I'll also look out for Locke." Ash suspected Locke's on the island. He didn't suspect Pikachu and Meowth closing in on another ship hijacked by Jack and Will. It would take almost another full day before the Pearl arrived at a shoreline. Along with Ash and Elizabeth, the pirates shipped the gold in bags and chests using emergency boats, towing them on land. Barbossa and Elizabeth watched on while Ash assisted in bringing the gold over the beach.

"Soon, Miss Turner," Barbossa coughed. "With your blood in the treasure in the cove ahead, the curse upon us will be lifted. The curse of the Heathen Gods will be a thing of the past." Elizabeth gawked at what Barbossa wanted from her.

"Wait...my blood?" she asked.

"Aye! Bootstraps and I stole the gold and were soon cursed by it. Now, Bootstraps is out of the picture and since you run in his bloodline, your blood should be payment enough to lift the curse." Elizabeth's quick call for "Parley" would now end up killing her. She did it to stop the violence in Port Royal. Even worse, she's actually a Swann, not a Turner. Her blood wouldn't lift the curse Barbossa's men were under. The small boat docked once more with Ash stepping in. All of the crew on the Black Pearl were on land, a perfect opportunity for Donald and Goofy to save Tinker Bell.

"Coast is clear!" Donald whispered. "I think Barbossa accepted our tale that we're here to protect Ash." They exited below deck and reached the cabin on a now empty ship.

"Tis the last of the gold," a pirate announced from the two-person cargo carrier. Barbossa came forward, his crew awaiting word.

"Aye!" he praised. "I want two people to each chest while everyone else carry a bag up to the cove. We should have everything ready for the moonlight tonight." Cricking his knuckles, Ash hoisted a bag of gold and followed Barbossa and Elizabeth. "Me men may have said it but thank you for helping us with caching the gold. Your blood isn't necessary in this ceremony." The line of pirates journeyed the path ahead of them. As they traversed the path on Mexican soil, the ship occupied by the others closed in on the shore...

"I guess Barbossa wants to get rid of the curse he put himself and his men through," Jack studied as he steered the ship toward the Pearl. "Of course, they need the blood of a Turner, something that fool doesn't have." Will wasn't worried about some curse. Ash and Elizabeth were with Barbossa.

"Let's reach shore and then go save the child and Elizabeth," he listed. When the boat neared land, Goofy looked out starboard, noticing Will and wove his hat. This got Will's attention. Donald and Tinker Bell joined up, her hiding in his suit. "Oi! Goofy!"

"What took you?!" he hollered back. Some time later, all gathered on shore where Goofy and Donald informed Jack and Will.

"They need the blood of a Turner, Captain Jack told me the same thing." Donald nodded to Will's wonder.

"That's what Ash said about the curse. Then again, we didn't know Jack had the same info." Jack realized something about Ash's discovery.

"Makes Barbossa an even bigger fool for taking the treasure," he pondered. "Those inflicted become skeletons under the moon, any kind of consumption becomes ash and are forced to scourge the seas in this eternal limbo. I should know, I was attacked by one while incarcerated. I, too, thought the Aztec curse was an old sailor's tale." Hearing what Barbossa's men became by taking the Aztec gold, Donald and Goofy shuttered. Even the Pokémon quivered.

"Greed can have some underlying side effects if you're not careful," Meowth muttered, something Pikachu wanted to point out.

"Oh, really?!" he squeaked back. "Considering your greediness in trying to capture me, you don't seem to learn your lesson over and over and over..." Meowth's growl had the urge to zip Pikachu's mouth.

"In any case, we need to rescue Elizabeth and the boy," Will pointed out. The dozen bobbed and followed in pursuit. A short while later, a cavern was spotted by the crew of the Pearl.

"That be the cove we enter," Barbossa determined. Ash eyed the entrance, somewhat disappointed in the finding.

"I can bet what's inside is fulfilling," he hoped as he continued in the cave. Inside didn't look to special aside from a set of small pedestals. Barbossa and Elizabeth joined. "Here?"

"No, those are for the chests. Once those are placed, pour the gold on top." Unbeknown to them, a silver-haired young man in a blue bandanna peered out at who was there. Pirates entered, placing the chests down on each pedestal before Ash and more pirates dumped the gold from the bags. Once the last bag was emptied, all that awaited was the moon to shine from a hole in the ceiling. "Evening is upon us. Once we offer your blood, Miss Turner, the curse upon us will lift." Elizabeth showed extreme nervousness. Before long, another laughter but one Ash recognized well.

"I knew it." A plume of smoke billowed from the pile of Aztec gold. Maleficent rose from the smoke, standing on the pile.

"I wanted to plague this land with my Heartless," she plotted. "However, I had to recover from the injury you inflicted on me while in the Digital World." Elizabeth blinked at what Maleficent mentioned. She didn't know about a world like that. Then again, she didn't know what Ash had gone through. Barbossa could care less about details of worlds they've battled.

"Tales about you and this lad can wait," he addressed. "If you don't mind, I've got a curse to lift." Maleficent scoffed at Barbossa's desire.

"That princess will not lift your foolish curse." Now it was Barbossa who blinked.

"What are you saying?"

"I've had a chance to understand your dilemma, about how dimwitted you and your crew acted in taking the gold that the Heathen Gods protected. To remove the curse, a payment of blood must be resolved. However, she is not of the blood you need to remove this ire." Barbossa's suspicions glared at Ash and Elizabeth.

"It's true, captain," Ash admitted. "She told me on the Pearl. Her real name is Elizabeth Swann. She said the code to stop you from endangering the citizens of Port Royal." Barbossa seethed in anger, tricked to taking Elizabeth without knowing the truth.

"You lied to me!" Elizabeth stepped back in fear as Barbossa approached. Ash flashed his keyblade between Barbossa and Elizabeth. "You have no purpose. She deceived me and me men. She must be punished." Maleficent floated down and joined Barbossa with an idea of her own.

"Perhaps I can take her for you," she sneered. "That way, you can worry about your curse while I take one more step in obtaining the power." Now it was Ash's turn in turning the tables.

"For once, it was like we were on the same page," he smirked before swinging up, Maleficent flying back at the last moment.

"I work alone, boy!" She summoned Heartless to attack Barbossa but his crew came fighting back. The pirates skewered the multiple forms of Heartless as the rest arrived. It was mayhem. Ash added to the mix, hacking away at the Heartless while escorting Elizabeth up a staircase.

"We're a little late to the party," Jack joked as he unsheathed a sword. Seeing Ash trying to clear Elizabeth, Will raced after the two.

"Elizabeth!" he shouted as he and Pikachu fought the gauntlet. Pikachu's Thunderbolt gave enough time for he and Will to reach the two as new Heartless merged. They held the same swords as the pirates. "Lovely." The Heartless attacked but were stopped by daggers stabbing them. They vaporized and hearts hovered up toward the moon. The group turned to the silver-haired.

"Kefka's troops weren't as many as the Heartless," he surveyed. "But then again, that jester was less predictable than Maleficent." Will and Elizabeth's gawked showed they had no clue to this new man. Ash had a guess but wanted to poke a little fun.

"Treasure hunter or ninja, Locke?" he questioned. Locke huffed a giggle.

"At least you didn't call me a thief." The battle got fierce with the Heartless and the pirates. Barbossa and Jack found themselves fighting back-to-back, literally.

"I ratified a mutiny against you," Barbossa snarled. "And yet you refuse to stay away." He carved more Heartless. Jack as well.

"Keep in mind that Davey Jones gave me the Pearl and my life," he explained with a parry. "So...technically...that Pearl is rightfully mine!" A large Heartless barreled at Jack, knocking him in the treasure in which he laid in the coins, one finding a pocket. Barbossa sliced it, another heart released. Even normal weapons on Heartless can do what the keyblade did. Goofy and Donald reached Ash and Meowth had retreated back to the hijacked boat. Scared cat! When Jack felt the coin and pulled it out, nerves shot out. He felt he had been cursed. Thinking as he fought, Ash figured that a keyhole was opened by Maleficent. One twist of his head down at the pile above where he stood, there was a keyhole where Maleficent appeared from. He slapped his head.

"Obviously," he murmured before turning to the dog. "Hey Goofy! I need a few seconds! Cover me!"

"Okay!" Goofy replied as he got in front of Ash, his shield risen. Ash jumped on the wall and shot a beam in the keyhole. A few seconds later, the keyhole was locked. The keyhole vanished when Dark Balls flew at the unbalanced keyblade wielder who leaped off and snagged a tentacle, swinging over the gold. Landing effortlessly by crushing a sword-wielding Heartless, he looked over to Donald. Quickly, he reached the duck.

"Good work. Can't say the same for Meowth." Tinker Bell flew to Ash's hood, taking better cover than in Donald's coat and feathers in her mind. Barbossa and Jack fought as much of the Heartless off. Without warning, a Heartless stabbed Jack through his body. He staggered back to a pillar of moonlight. He maintained his balance but that may be for naught...or so he thought. Standing tall, he checked his body while stretching his arm in the light. His arm changed to a skeletal hand and arm.

"This is new," he scoffed, knowing he was cursed. He removed the coin and the sword through his chest and spread his blood on it as Will, Locke and Elizabeth ran for the exit. "Will!" Tossing another coin to Will, he willingly cut his arm and let a little blood drop on it. Done, he tossed the coin back to Jack who threw it in the pile. The two coins touched the rest. Soon, a whirlwind swirled around, catching all the Heartless in a trap and everyone taking cover. The Heartless were blown through the moon roof. Maleficent took this opportunity to snag Elizabeth...until Pikachu used the wind to his advantage, scoring a tackle and knocking the witch to the cavern wall. The winds ceased. The pirates, Barbossa, Jack, Elizabeth, Will, Ash, Locke, Donald and Goofy rose up. Pikachu landed on all fours, glaring down the unfortunate antagonist.

"Who knew those gym battles foreshadowed these fights?" he squeaked. Maleficent painfully rose a little and unleashed a force, strong enough to blow back everyone. Maleficent rose to her feet, gazing toward Elizabeth.

"Now, princess of Port Royal..." she sneered. "It's time to join the other princesses, aid in resurrecting the greatest darkness." Another whirlwind kicked up just as Ash jumped on his feet, the blade of the Digital World in his grasp.

"Shove off, Maleficent!" he shouted as he swung the light weapon in the whirlwind. Like an ax caught in a wedge of wood, the keyblade was stuck in the windy wall. It was too much and Ash blew away...and that's when everything slowed to a crawl. Quick-Time Vision was active again. Ash looked to the vortex of wind, seeing Maleficent reaching for the Swann. He also felt Tinker Bell clutching his neck with her tiny, tiny hands.

"_This is your chance to fly, Ash," _Sora advised. _"Tinker Bell is holding you so you have a chance to strike Maleficent hard." _Some advice that Ash blinked on.

"Sora, I'm a human, not a bird Pokémon."

"_Trust me. Not only will you enjoy it, you'll have more angles to attack the Heartless. Just straighten out and let the air flow around you." _Ash mustered his arms to stretch out. He flipped backwards before zooming at the whirlwind head-on. As he was within reach, he flipped again but forward and lead to the swirl with his feet. Those feet cut through the winds and pulled Elizabeth from Maleficent. Both hit the floor but would be okay as Ash rolled and pointed the keyblade at Maleficent.

"Another new ability and another wasted effort," she mulled. "I should wipe the floor but I'll take my leave for now. So many princesses, so little time..." Will huddled by Elizabeth as Maleficent billowed smoke before disappearing. Everyone rose up. Barbossa faced Jack, an old score wanting to settle.

"Now that she's gone," he addressed the once-dead pirate. "It's time we took care of some unfinished business." Jack didn't waste a second as he presented a long-barreled gun and pointed it at Barbossa, not worried for a second. One step...BANG! Barbossa shrugged his shoulders to why he shot that gun. "You've had that hand cannon for years just to shoot me while I'm cursed?" To Jack, he shook his head.

"No," he denied. "You're not cursed anymore." Barbossa stopped before fingering his stomach where he was shot. Blood! He realized that he was human again.

"This...can't be..." He stumbled back before falling on the Aztec gold. Ash approached the down pirate. He couldn't hear a breath. He palmed the fedora and fitted it over his face. Barbossa was dead.

"So long...old friend." Ash stood up, saddened by the loss of Barbossa while Will, Locke and Elizabeth watched on. Exiting the cavern, the pirates retreated to the Pearl but not Jack...not yet. "I know the Governor's military will come after the Black Pearl and the Interceptor. It'd be best for you all to return the Interceptor back to Port Royal." The others nodded.

"Uh...what about you, Jack?" Goofy wondered. Jack wove a finger at Goofy.

"_Captain_ Jack...Sparrow. Now that Barbossa's dead and his pirates aligning with me, we've got unfinished business out at sea. And Ash?" The trainer turned to the newly-active captain, holding a rapier with the hilt at him. Did the rapier contain the new keyblade? "Good luck in the other worlds. You never know what awaits beyond the moon."

"You got it," Ash accepted as he and Jack shook hands, receiving the rapier. Suddenly, the rapier morphed. A flash revealed a new keyblade with the ship's steering wheel as the hilt and an anchor as the prongs, all coated in silver. Ash got mesmerized. He wanted to try the weapon but wanted off this island. Locke joined those boarding the Interceptor, Jack boarding the Pearl. Both ships sailed different directions with the Interceptor heading back to its home port. Meowth was found sleeping beneath the wheel where Locke navigated, careful not to step on the cat. Ash entered a room below deck, viewing Elizabeth's aid to Will's cut.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" she asked. Will was visibly okay.

"As long as you're safe, all wounds mean nothing to me," he replied. That's when Will's feelings began to seep out. "You know, I never got the proper chance to thank you those eight years ago." Elizabeth looked up, stunned that he would come out and admit about something from the past.

"I thought you did." She then believed that he might have said it unconsciously back nearly that decade. Then her feelings started leaking. "I didn't like who my father wanted to be my husband. Norrington isn't someone for me." Will became intrigued. Elizabeth's refusal of listening to her father heightened what he anticipated. "We rescued you...and I wanted to take care of you. Can it still be possible for that?" Will bobbed a nod.

"And I, you." They leaned in, eyes locked on the other's. Finally, the lips touched. Ash puffed a confident smirk, liking the two coming together. He stepped out of the cabin but leaned against the wall. The kiss reminded Ash of someone who gave him a moment.

"Liz Swann...and Will Turner," he murmured their names. "I guess Misty was right. Kinda reminds me of Sora." Tinker Bell flew up at the sound of Sora's name, gawking that there was a romantic relationship between the former and current wielders. Sora had to clarify.

"_I believe you're meaning the girl in the DigiWorld, not me, right?" _he guessed, Tinker Bell hearing him after some time.

"That one." Tinker Bell seemed relieved. It wasn't the missing Sora. Having the itsy-bitsy blond on his head, Ash strutted to the front of the Interceptor. He thought he'd see only ocean but other ships were coming his way. The Interceptor was about to get intercepted.

"Now I wish this was Setzer's airship," Locke mulled, stepping away from the wheel. The sails were lowered as the ships moved in. Once side-to-side with the hijacked boat, a man in a white wig stepped on board with a few soldiers, all wearing red military uniforms.

"Gentlemen?" he called. "This boat was stolen by Jack Sparrow, along with a...William Turner. Are you two associates?" Ash wasn't one to say he was involved but Locke helped out with this.

"Nope. We were on different vessels, Ash here taken by the pirates against his will. Besides, the Interceptor was used to rescue Elizabeth Swann who is on here." The name made the captain's heart skip a beat.

"Elizabeth's here?" One soldier reported back to the captain with a whisper. A nod from the captain with a turn back to the two as Donald and Goofy watched from behind a corner. "Your story checks out. Son, if you aided in Elizabeth's rescue, we will happily go with you back to Port Royal." A free trip...

"Thank you," he replied. "And besides, Jack took Will hostage and used this ship to escape. Don't punish him for something beyond his control." The captain had a skeptical look on him.

"I will question him to verify. If he is innocent, no punishment will be issued." Being helped back to port, Ash and the group were happy to get the adventure over with. Back on homeland, Elizabeth gave Ash and his friends thanks...except for Meowth who waited back in the Gummi Ship.

"I can't thank you enough for protecting me, not just from Barbossa but that Maleficent character as well," she praised. "I do hope Norrington is easy on Will."

"Don't you worry that young face, hyuk!" Goofy laughed. "I'm sure Norrington will treat Will with respect." Elizabeth hoped so.

"I've also warned the military in case Maleficent tries to come after you again," Ash acknowledged. "Anyway, we gotta get going and protect other princesses from her clutches." Elizabeth's nod told the boys she understands.

"Do be careful on your adventures," she wished as she reached for Pikachu on Ash's shoulder. "That also goes for you, Little Lightning." Aw, that's cute. Where's Tinker Bell if Pikachu's there? More curious, where was Pikachu on the ride back to Port Royal? Their goodbyes shared, the boys entered the Gummi Ship and left for new worlds. Tinker Bell reappeared, sleeping comfortably on Ash's lap.

"Tinker Bell has taken a liking to you," Donald studied. Ash didn't mind, neither did Pikachu.

"Tink just needs sometime to rest up," he theorized. "That or she prefers Ash for something else." Dare we ask what that something else could be?

"I'd like her as a teammate over Meowth," Ash compared. "At least she helped out." Ouch! That's when a ringing echoed in the cockpit. Donald activated the monitor, Leon on-screen.

"Boys!" he called out. "I've heard the good words in Port Royal and DigiWorld." Ash smiled at the compliment but frowned a little about the other worlds.

"Thanks but we still failed Vanellope and Holly." Leon bobbed in the information.

"You're learning from your mistakes. I know Sora wouldn't let you have the keyblade if you kept failing. By the way, how about swinging on back to Traverse Town for a bit? Someone from the Colosseum is here and would like to meet you." This was an interesting offer for Ash and the team. He also saw an opportunity to rid Meowth now that he showed his colors.

"We'll be there, ASAP," Goofy agreed. The monitor shut off and a plan was arraigned.

"Looks like princess hunting will have to be put on hold for a little while," Ash plotted. The Gummi Ship changed course and was on its way to Traverse Town. What awaited the group on their return?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

(It's been determined that the next world would be Yu-Gi-Oh! However, I'll toss up a poll to see who the princess should be.)


	12. On Twilight Cloud 9

_A/N: Thank you to all who've enjoyed this story up to this point. This story couldn't be half as good without your help._

* * *

_Chapter 12: On Twilight Cloud 9_

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After thwarting Maleficent of taking Elizabeth Swann and acquiring Tinker Bell from Port Royal, Ash, Pikachu, Meowth who backed off from the fight with the pirates, Donald and Goofy were on their way back to Traverse Town where Leon had a surprise for Ash from the Coliseum. It was a break from traveling world to world trying to protect the princesses. They were fortunate with Kari and Elizabeth but not able to save Holly and Vanellope. At least a trip back was a way to regroup. "It's been a while since we've left Traverse Town for this adventure, hyuk!" Goofy chuckled. "I mean, it feels like home away from home. You know what I mean?" Ash had a moment to ponder Goofy's discovery.

"Sorta," he replied as he peered down at Tinker Bell sleeping in his lap. "I guess the world I normally walk on is home, even though I live in Pallet Town where I got Pikachu." The named Pokémon jumped on the headrest of Ash's seat. He was anxious to get a piece of information out there for the rest.

"Good times," he squeaked. "I still remember that bitter first meeting." Tinker Bell woke up to hear of this detail.

"What do you mean bitter?" Donald questioned.

"Pikachu and I didn't start out on the best terms," Ash revealed. "Heck, I overslept when I was going to get my first Pokémon. Because of that, I couldn't get either a Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. I thought that my Pokémon training was over before it started when Professor Oak mentioned he had one more Pokémon. That's when we first met." Pikachu remembered the event well.

"Of course, I had doubts about Ash and being out of that Pokéball for the first time in a while was a breath of fresh air," Pikachu added. "I...may have been upset at Professor Oak giving me away to a bad excuse of a trainer... I mean, late for your first Pokémon is pathetic...Ash was a bit of a bully trying to take me around. I didn't listen, even poked fun at his moronic acts in trying to catch Pokémon. That was until we were chased by a flock of angry Spearow and I was pecked a lot. That's when I realized that Ash was willing to do anything to protect me from the flock. I shot out Thundershock and scattered the Spearow away."

"That day on...minus a few disagreements...Pikachu and I have been inseparable. Wish I could say the same with Misty and Brock."A heartwarming story. Something Goofy could relate.

"Gwarsh," he awed. "It sounds a lot like King Mickey and Donald." The duck growled at the dog like a dog for the remark. Soon the monitor lit up, Cid on-screen.

"Boys, you reading me?" the scruffy blond called. "You're closing in on our town." Ash turned to the monitor, ready to respond.

"We read you, Cid," he replied. "Are the hangar doors open?"

"They're opening now. Touch her down for a landing and careful not to scratch it."

"Roger!" The Gummi Ship descended toward the town where the hanger bay opened the roof, popping up the landing spot. The Gummi Ship landed and the platform domed itself. Below the town, the riders exited the Gummi Ship, greeted by Cid and Tifa.

"Hey, everyone," she smiled. "Glad to see you're all in one piece still." Ash was the first to greet Tifa.

"What's the word?" The only thing Tifa would know.

"He's waiting back at base." Acknowledging, the group headed out...before Ash remembered something.

"Say, if you find a cat in there, make sure he doesn't find his way back on that ship." This sound had Tifa glaring at the door of the ship. There _was_ a cat that she recalled beating up. She stepped in the ship and toured the vessel. One stop at the sick bay room and there was Meowth, catnapping on the bed.

"Leave Meowth alone, he deserves his rest," he yawned. He's not aware that Tifa was ready to beat him senseless...again. She cracked her knuckles which woke Meowth to a nightmare. The moment he looked up to the smirking brunette, he realized that he was in trouble.

"Can't keep yourself away, could you?" she sneered. Meowth had his life flash before his eyes. Sounds of vicious bone breaking strikes echoed out to Cid. Knowing what Ash asked for, Tifa wanted to make sure it was resolved.

"Man, whoever's in there isn't getting out standing up," Cid moaned. "I'll let her finish up before I start upgrades." As Tifa tenderized the Alley Cat Pokémon, the rest arrived at the hideout with Leon, Aerith and...he's new. A spiky blond man in dark clothes stood in the back, leaning on the wall as Pikachu ran up to Aerith.

"And how's my little mouse after all those trips?" she cooed. Pikachu was beyond words when Aerith picked him up and rubbed her face on his soft fur.

"Oh, Aerith!" he awed. Ash mulled. Seeing Pikachu getting very cozy to Aerith gave him bad memories.

"I know Tifa said she likes animals but still..." he grumbled. The blond took stock of Ash's words.

"You say Tifa?" he spoke out. Ash twisted his head to the new blond.

"Yeah! Just saw her at the hanger." Thinking that the two just saw each other and just exchanged names, the blond eased down.

"Ash, this is Cloud Strife," Leon introduced. "He came back from the Coliseum after he heard news of you, the new wielder of the keyblade." Ash stood forward and offered a handshake. Cloud looked at the hand and at him, nothing really offered. "Yeah, he's not what some consider social." Giving in, Ash withdrew the shake.

"I've heard of your struggles with the former fairy," said Cloud. "You're still learning about the responsibility of a keyblade master, but you've grown rather fast." Ash smiled to Cloud's ruling. Leon gazed back over.

"So, you think he's cut out for keyblade business?" Cloud closed his eyes for a second. A thought...

"He has potential...but I want to test him and make sure my theories of him are correct." What theories would those be? Nevertheless, Ash got stoked for this test from Cloud.

"I'm ready for whatever you got!" he pumped. Cloud fluffed a half-hearted nod to confirm with Ash. They stepped outside where Goofy had a bad feeling about the test.

"You think Ash has a chance with Cloud and that Buster Sword?" he asked. Donald wasn't caring enough to question one's weapon choice.

"Never underestimate what the keyblade can do, Goofy," he retaliated. "Sora was able to beat him." The group stopped at a town square. With no one but themselves on the street, the venue was absolute for the test. Ash summoned his default keyblade while Cloud unsheathed a giant of a sword. The blade was about as big, if not bigger than Cloud, and looked almost rectangular with the tip of a triangle. First sight of the sword had nerves bouncing around Ash.

"That's...a...pretty big sword you..." he stuttered. 'That thing is so big, I can't finish my joke about it.' Pikachu got understandably worried with the size differences.

"How is Ash suppose to fight against something like _that?!_" he squeaked. Ash shook his head and focused.

'Keep it together, Ash. That sword can really hurt someone...but the size of it requires awesome strength and it's supposedly slow to swing around. I'm pretty good with speed so getting around his attacks should be a piece of cake.' His thinking brought out someone else.

"_Cloud may look scrawny but he wields that Buster Sword with immense velocity," _Sora chimed in. _"Speed alone is a death wish. If you can match him move for move, your chances would be a little better. However, I doubt at your fastest that you can stay with him."_ Ash rose his keyblade, ready for Cloud.

'Sora, there's something I think you've already been told about. Speed and strength aren't the only things in a fight. So many ways a fight can turn out and most often than not...the heart tells the tale.' Cloud raced in. The fight was on. Cloud swung his sword but Ash countered with a swing of his own. Both swords clashed and it became a shoving match. Both pushed away.

"They're even?" Pikachu gawked. Cloud jumped back in the fray but his swing was slow enough for Ash to roll away and slash back, denied by the Buster Sword. Both continued to hack at each other, Ash somehow keeping pace with Cloud's speed despite Tinker Bell hanging out with Leon. He wasn't even using Quick-Time Vision as he swung and bounced off walls, awnings and poles. Where was he holding all that mobility? A few minutes of clashing weapons, Cloud stopped on top of the square's fountain as Ash stood a few feet away.

"I can see," Cloud hummed. "Using the environment to your battling style...plenty of angles to attack. Can I ask where you learned such unusual techniques?" Ash was more than willing to defog Cloud about his abilities.

"When you work with Pokémon as long as I have, you see things not many others can." To Cloud, his training with Pikachu and others helped adapt to his keyblade fiascos.

"Fascinating. Useful...albeit unorthodox. You may have a chance in Hades's Tournament at the Coliseum." An invite but Ash wasn't really interested with a tournament.

"Tempting but I have other matters to deal with, like Maleficent." Cloud nodded. If Ash didn't want to take part in a tournament, no need to push the envelope.

"I see. Who knows if I will see you again. Until then, keep getting stronger...and find Sora." On that note, Cloud walked off. Ash looked on, wondering if there's something Cloud wasn't telling him. Leon realized one thing about the fight.

"Cloud held back," he pointed out. Everyone gawked at Leon, stunned to learn why Ash kept up with Cloud. Why would Cloud hold back?

"You mean Cloud didn't use his full power?" Pikachu wondered. Leon shook his head.

"If he did, Ash would be dead." Ash wasn't close to taking a super Cloud. Scary thought. Back in the hideout, Leon and Donald evaluated Ash's progress thanks to Cloud. "Taking on someone like Cloud and going move for move with him is fascinating. Keep up this pace and Maleficent won't have a chance to take the other princesses." Ash smiled at the compliment from the brunette supervisor.

"Thanks, though I would've appreciated that he'd tell me that he was reserving power," he complained. "Was he saving it for something?" Leon lurched back on his chair, eyes closed and deep in thought.

"My guess is Sephiroth." The name rang a bell with Donald.

"That's the one-winged angel Sora fought before in the Coliseum," he quacked. "He wields the Masamune, a katana that's three times as long as he is tall and uses it to great effect. Not many can stand up to him but Cloud must have beaten him after we left." In Ash's mind, Cloud was exhausted from his skirmish with Sephiroth which could explain why he didn't use his full potential.

"The way you mention Sephiroth, he's someone who hates people in general," he theorized. "But I doubt he'd be working with Maleficent."

"Yeah, he'd reject any offer she'd present." If Sephiroth made contact with them, Ash would be in trouble and it wouldn't be because he's the new keyblade wielder. It could be for any reason, even no reason at all. Suddenly, Cid opened the door to the hideout.

"Update, boys!" he called, having everyone turn to the blond. "Upgrades to the Gummi Ship are complete. You'll be going farther and faster than just recently. And Tifa got rid of a feline problem." Meowth was safely evicted from the Gummi Ship. No need to carry someone or something that hinders than helps.

"Guess that's our cue," Goofy huffed as he, Donald and Ash stood up, Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder and Tinker Bell flew into his hood. She popped up and looked out the opposite shoulder of Pikachu.

"Ash?" Aerith voiced, having the boy turn to the female. "There are still plenty of worlds that need to be sealed. Be careful." Ash nodded to her advice.

"I will," he acknowledged. That's when she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek...of Pikachu. What, you thought Ash was getting more love? Not yet.

"_You_ make sure he stays the course." Pikachu was swooned with her kiss.

"Yes, my lady!" he awed. Ash and Tinker Bell palmed their faces. Reaching the hanger, Tifa waited for the travelers.

"Ash!" she called. Ash now turned to the violent brunette. "Cloud stopped by before leaving for more travels. I don't know where he's going. He _did_ tell me to give this to you." She offered Ash a ribbon. That's right, a pink, girlish, pretty ribbon. "Why he wants you to have this ribbon and not the bracelet he doesn't use anymore is beyond me." It was unusual for a dude to have a girly ribbon. If Cloud wanted Ash to have it, he had no argument in it. He wrapped the ribbon around his arm. "Anyway, there's a report from the Duel World about some overwhelming activity with Heartless and the monsters in combat." Ash fluffed a nod, destination determined.

"Then the Duel World it is!" With the group boarded on the Gummi Ship, the vessel lifted off, new worlds to explore.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	13. Monster Card Sharks, Part 1

_Chapter 13: Monster Card Sharks_

* * *

With the Gummi Ship upgraded and their group one member shorter, Ash and his animal friends headed out for the Duel World. It wasn't long ago that Ash sparred with Cloud. More confident to battle the likes of Maleficent and her horde of Heartless. A lot had occurred with Ash ever since becoming the new keyblade master. So many new friends from Genki to Ralph and Captain Jack Sparrow. All he could do was look forward to protecting the worlds' princesses. The alarm on the monitor prompted Goofy to check it out. It was the Duel World approaching swiftly. "We're almost there!" he announced. "And not a moment sooner. Heartless activity on the rise!" To Ash, they had to act quickly.

"Then it's go-time!" he gritted as they closed in. They entered a city where various monsters were invading from all sorts of travel by land, sea and air. Finding a place to land would be difficult. Some of the monsters, ranging from dragons to lions to machines, were fighting each other.

"What's with all these monsters fighting in some free-for-all?!" Donald squawked.

"I don't know but we do need to land! Let's hit the outskirts and work our way in!" The Gummi Ship diverted and left the area, landing in an opened field where three winged girls met them. Aside from different hair colors, all three had blue faces and talons for feet. They could be here for an attack on Ash and the gang.

"Harpy Sisters, stand down!" a woman's voice ordered. The three winged girls turned to a voluptuous bond woman in purple. They landed and bow a knee forward, respecting her. The lass walked past the sisters and approached the boys. "I take it you came here to stop the Duel Monsters from destroying Domino City, right?" Ash itched his head, thinking she may be talking about all the monsters, not just the Heartless.

"In a sense. We came to keep the Heartless away from someone important here." This made the blond think. Darting her head, she believed that something came here doing damage to the city.

"Could that be what caused the malfunction at Kaiba Corp.?" Did it have to do with the monster invasion? She refocused back to the crisis at hand. "Forget it. We need to reach Yugi at his store. Come on!" The blond led ahead with the Harpy Sisters on guard. Suddenly, a large blackish-orange dragon discovered and blocked the group from advancing. It snarled with the glowing yellow eyes. "Crawling Dragon?" Ash spotted the symbol above the snout.

"Heartless! We got it!" The Heartless Dragon breathed fire at the heroes but Ash used the hammer keyblade to divert the flames up. Upon contact with the concrete wave, more Heartless appeared from the dragon. Shadows and Dark Balls substituted for the dragon and swarmed those who fought it...or them.

"Harpy Sisters, Siren of Death!" The sisters let out a powerful screech which knocked back the Shadows. The powerful voices blew them to dust and left the Dark Balls on the attack.

"I got them!" Pikachu called by leaping...and flying at the Dark Balls with Tinker Bell hanging on the ears. The Dark Balls tried chomping down but Pikachu and Tinker Bell evaded each one until he plopped on it and forced the others to chase. Tinker Bell flew away, knowing Pikachu's electricity. "Thunderbolt!" The electrifying shot...er, shock nailed the Dark Balls, stopping them in their breeze. Donald didn't want to sit back.

"This should do the trick!" he quacked by shooting fireballs, somewhat bigger than before. "Fira?" They struck and snuffed the Dark Balls, the hearts flying high. With his platform now ash, he fell into Ash's arms.

"Good work, Pikachu," he smiled.

"As always," Pikachu grinned. The blond was rather fascinated with how well their attacks worked to perfection.

"He's too young for me but Joey could use some of his lessons," she compared. It also didn't help that Ash had someone in mind. Speaking of, he turned to the blond.

"So which way to the store?" he asked. She peered in a fixed direction.

"That way!" They ran off and found a building with "GAME" several feet above the door. They entered where they could catch their breath. They weren't alone.

"Mai!" a young man recognized. The blond twisted her head to a boy with a very interesting spiky hairdo with a mix of blond, red and raven hair. He wore a blue uniform and a tiny golden pyramid upside-down. He was a bit taller than Ash.

"Is everyone still here, Yugi?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah, including Mokuba. I believe he came to us for help with something." That's when Yugi noticed the extra company. "I don't know who you are. Did you come here for something?" Ash bobbed, his mission the explanation to offer.

"Yeah, Don, Goof, Pikachu, Tinker Bell and I came to take out the Heartless that appeared to have taken control of the monsters," he listed. "And protect the princess of this world." Yugi and Mai looked perplexed. A princess with them?

"Kid, this isn't a fairy tale," Mai huffed. "A princess here?" That's when her thought process came back to the Heartless. "I'll take the Heartless for granted but the princess ordeal is beyond our belief."

"Not to mention that Tristan and Duke still want to keep Serenity close," Yugi added. "But still...a princess in Domino City?" It did seem too much for Mai and Yugi to take at once. Ash's thoughts focused on what the two brought up: Serenity. Could she be what Maleficent is after? Ash has been on heating up with correct guesses in the DigiWorld and Port Royal.

"Then would you believe a walking, talking dog and duck?" Goofy questioned. Well, they were _right_ there.

"Well, hearing you," Mai gulped. "I believe it now." Yugi wanted to get the show on the road. Those monsters need to be dealt with.

"Let's discuss this in the backroom," Yugi optioned. All agreed and entered another room crowded with plenty of teenagers and a short old man with gray hair, facial and natural. A blond teen young man gawked at Mai's arrival, wearing a white t-shirt with sky blue stripes and jeans.

"Oh...uh...Mai, what are you doing here?" he stuttered with a Brooklyn accent.

"What do you think, Joey?" Mai teased. "Making sure the shop isn't under by the wild duel monsters." Joey groaned, somewhat upset at Mai's little mock. A reddish-brunette teen, about a foot shorter than Joey, caught glimpse of Pikachu and circled around everyone to get a closer look...or more a grab. Pikachu jumped which helped the reddish-brunette who donned a pink short-sleeve jacket with yellow seams and a skirt.

"You're a cute little monster," she cooed. "Are you a Beast-Type? Electric-Type with that lightning tail?" She's curious about Ash's mouse while Tinker Bell peered up. Hearing the reddish-brunette, she rolled her eyes in some disgust. What, did she have a liking to Pikachu as well?

"Well, Electric-type," he replied, spooking the reddish-brunette. "I'm actually a Pokémon." She recovered her wits and embraced Pikachu in a hug.

"Tell you what, I'll overlook your ability to talk and keep you comfy. You're too cute to go out there and fight all those monsters." Ash and Joey mulled at the way the reddish-brunette held Pikachu close to her. A raven-haired young man closed in on the one placing Pikachu's head between a couple of tiny mounds.

"You know, I think I can get something like that if you want one, Serenity," he tried to swoon. A tall brunette make in a brown jacket got confrontational with the raven in a red vest over a black t-shirt and red cargo pants.

"Hold on, Dice Boy!" the brunette shouted, planting a hand and shoving the raven-haired by the shoulder away from Serenity. "As Joey's friend, it's my obligation to make sure Serenity's safe from goofs like you." Dice Boy fumed in anger. Goofy wondered if he should be offended.

"Did he mean me, too?" he asked.

"No, Goofy," Donald reassured. "He doesn't mean you." As the two teens dispute over Serenity, Ash huffed a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know if I should be glad Brock didn't come with me or debate that I hate guys who do that to girls?" he complained while a taller brunette female in a blue sleeveless shirt, short shorts and white thigh-high stockings sneaked from behind him.

"You're a guy yourself, right?" she pointed out to force Ash to turn around at her.

"Do you see me acting that way towards you?" It dawned the moment she compared the two after Serenity and Ash by her. A complete difference.

"I see your point." Yugi wanted to get to understanding the problem with the monsters outside.

"Duke, Tristan, there are more important things to worry about than Serenity now!" he yelled. The two boys stopped what they were doing and turned to Yugi. Serenity circled around to Joey's side.

"Thank you, Yugi," she praised. The boys gathered around when a smaller raven-haired boy opened the door. About Ash's height with about three times as much in the hair, he wore a red sweatshirt and a green handkerchief as a scarf.

"What's going on in here?" he asked as he sided with Yugi. Everyone else turned to the new boy.

"Just some extra help, Mokuba," Yugi addressed him. "We may need you to explain to our new arrival about the issue at your brother's corporation." Mokuba was Kaiba's brother?

"You sure?" A nod from Yugi should give the youngster some confidence. "I don't know. I want to make sure Seto's okay after that green-faced woman in black messed with his computer systems." Ash knew one green-faced woman: Maleficent. Still, he kept his beak shut unlike...

"I didn't know Maleficent was computer savvy," Donald squawked in awe. All turned to the bipedal white duck in blue.

"Green-Face has a name?" Joey gulped before spotting the ribbon dressed on his arm. "And what the heck are you doing with a ribbon?! That's meant for chicks! Don't tell me you're going after my sister as well!" Ash huffed a sigh at the rant Joey made about Cloud's ribbon.

"Someone gave it to me and left before I could ask," he groaned. Mai wanted to believe him but had a suggestion of her own.

"That ribbon would be better on Téa, anyway," she pointed out. The brunette female jumped in surprise.

"Me?!" she, now known as Téa, gasped. "I don't look good with a ribbon! I prefer myself as I am now! Maybe you should wear it for Joey's sake!" Now Joey leaped a little, not wanting any involvement in the matter.

"Hey, leave my private life outta this!" he snapped. Suddenly, a loud thud alerted everyone. The brunette male punched the table to get everyone's attention.

"In case anyone forgot about the monsters outside, I should remind you why we have this kid and these animals visiting us," he billowed. Everyone relaxed about those unimportant issues and focused on the task at hand.

"Sorry, Tristan," Mokuba apologized. "Anyway, everything when haywire at Kaiba Corp., and the monsters had life. Now any monster that's summoned and destroyed during a duel will affect the duelist. I caught the end of one duel and that person turned into a black thing from the shadows. Seto's trying to fix the issues but so far, nothing's worked. In the meantime, he's issued all duels active and scheduled suspended indefinitely until the matter's resolved." Unanswered questions spurned. Ash looked back, still seeing the Harpy Sisters mellowing about. When Mokuba spotted those same winged women, he shrugged at the sight. "We're still wondering why the monsters not destroyed don't vanish after a duel or sorts." Something about this didn't sit well with Ash.

"What do you use to duel, if you don't mind me asking?" he questioned. "Keep in mind, this is the first time we've been here." Yugi flashed a deck of cards with dark red backs.

"We battle with these cards," he clarified. "They're Normal Monster, Effect Monster, Magic, Trap, Fusion and Ritual Monster cards. We duel until one loses all his Life Points, their deck is empty, they surrender or a special kind of victory like summoning the five cards of Exodia." Even Donald and Goofy started taking notes to how this world works.

"Pretty different from my home world." None of the locals knew how to approach Ash's words.

"It's a long, long story," Goofy tried to shorten it. "One I'm afraid we don't have time to discuss." The unified shrugs was a sure way to drop the subject.

"I suppose so," Tristan sided. The old man came forward, a plan on his mind.

"So, we need to attack Kaiba Corp., format his programs and shut down the hologram systems created by this Maleficent," he plotted. A straightforward plan that even Joey saw problems.

"Gramps, dial it back a couple of channels," he shuttered. "Kaiba wouldn't just let us enter his enterprise that easily. Even if we had Mokuba around, that's the first thing he'd take action on and everything else, never." Gramps felt some defeat in that reply.

"That eliminates the straightforward approach," Donald mulled. That's when Ash remembered something.

"Have you tried contacting your brother?" he wondered. Mokuba shook his head.

"The lines were cut nearly the same moment the monsters ran amok," he informed. "No one can talk via phones." So Seto and Mokuba couldn't check on each other.

"I see. The straightforward approach is the only option at this point, despite Joey's argument." The other raven-haired, presumably Duke, had little choice.

"And considering Maleficent still out in the open and after Serenity, Tristan and I will make sure she's okay," he assumed. Before they were ready to file out, the sound of a door forced in caught everyone's notice. Prone on the floor, a violet-hared young man wearing a red beanie hat and green spring jacket looked beat.

"Rex!" Yugi recognized. All came by to aid the downed Rex. He was in massive pain after some sort of argument.

"Weevil..." he winced. "Something...wrong with..." He writhed in so much pain, he had trouble speaking. Téa and Yugi held Rex down.

"Take it easy," she advised. As they attended to Rex, Ash, Goofy and Donald raced outside and turned to a gruesome sight. A giant green horned moth with huge wings fluttered. It became weird with the appearance of a body where the head should be. A boy sneered down, his torso coated in green. He had an ordinary schoolboy haircut with a non-ordinary teal hair and glasses. He cackled at the new body granted.

"Merged with the Great Moth, I can change Domino City," he laughed. "No...the entire world to my liking! Seto Kaiba will fall, as well as those Blue Eyes that he cares so much about!" So...was it a he...or a she?

"Good thing Misty isn't here," Ash huffed. "She'd be scared to death with...whatever that is." A hybrid of a giant bug and an egotistical boy? He glared down at the trainer and the pets.

"Are you some of Yugi's friends? Not that it matters now that I've acquired the power of all my insect monsters!" The rest, minus Gramps and Rex still inside, exited and faced the new hostile.

"There's a Weevil look we haven't seen before," Duke shuttered in awe...or fear.

"True, but he still bugs us no matter what we do," Joey groaned. Weevil got angered at Joey's little mock.

"Watch your tongue, Wheeler!" he snapped. "I may have lost focus against my friend, Rex, but this new body feels invigorating like I'm part of a new breed." It was a sickening sight.

"Tell that to my stomach," Tristan groaned. Ash summoned the keyblade he got from Captain Jack Sparrow back at Isla de la Muerta. Téa noticed the weapon, very unfamiliar to the design.

"That's not a sword I've seen, especially in my history classes," she pondered about the tool to seal the keyholes. Weevil wasn't impressed.

"That thing?" he challenged. "Ha!" Ash never wavered. Pointing to Weevil, the keyblade pulsed. He huffed, knowing that Weevil became a Heartless.

"Funny, right?" he snickered. He'd soon lose the smirk when the area fogged up in yellow. Yugi and fellows realized it and panicked.

"The scales!" Joey shrieked. The pollinating scales forced everyone but Ash back, Pikachu noticing it.

"Ash!" he squeaked. "Get out of there!" Ash wanted to move but it seemed that everywhere was blocked off.

"The Great Moth's scales will weaken you!" Weevil warned. "You should have retreated like Yugi and the rest of the cowards!" As the teal-haired cackled, Ash took a breath, inhaling the seemingly toxic scales. Ash noticed that he wasn't getting weak. Heck, he still breathed okay. He stood normally, much to the shock of the Heartless Weevil. "What's going on?! Why aren't you on your knees?! It's poisonous!" Ash looked to the ribbon from Cloud. Someone knew why Ash wasn't suffering.

"_Of course!" _Sora figured out. _"The ribbon Cloud gave you! It prevents you from status ailments like poison, burns, paralysis and others!" _That's what Cloud's ribbon did? For such a dainty little item, it was proving its worth.

"Thanks, Cloud," Ash scoffed. He sensed the keyblade and its persona, weird but he knew what to do. With a twirl, water splashed out from the keyblade before he smashed the ground. It kicked up torrential geysers and turning to a water spout, swirling the scales away.

"Water!" Weevil screeched. "I hate water! Stop with it!" That's when Mai had an idea thanks to Ash.

"Yugi, borrow my Harpy Sisters!" she offered. Yugi had a hunch of Mai's plan...when his pyramid started to glow.

"Yu-Gi-Oh~!" he chanted. When the glow stopped, Yugi looked like he hit sudden puberty. He was much taller than before. He pulled a card out which had a demonic skull and bony torso with all the organs in it. "Thank you, Mai. I sacrifice the Harpy Sisters to bring forth...Summoned Skull!" The card flashed. When it dimmed, the Harpy Sisters were substituted for a giant skeletal demon with muscles shown inside. The sight of such a creature scared Goofy and Donald back. They didn't want to anger something like that. "Now, Summoned Skull, Black Lightning Attack!" Summoned Skull unleashed a powerful blast of electricity, more voltage than what Pikachu could muster. The storm of lightning struck the spout but Ash stood like a statue, the ribbon absorbing the electricity. Weevil felt every pore take the lightning, screaming his lungs out in pain. The spout dispersed where everyone gawked to the surprise. Weevil descended, paralyzed with all the sparks coating him. Ash stood, ready to finish Weevil.

"Is that even possible for Ash?" Pikachu gasped, not sure about how Ash could take all that electricity and still stand like he wasn't touched. "I shock him a lot and he goes down easily! _That _showered more than what I shoot out and look...nothing!" No one knew about the ribbon and what it did to save Ash. Revised, he charged in.

"Time for a little disection, Weevil!" he punned. SLASH! Weevil looked to have split while screaming some more. Finally, Weevil and the Great Moth dissolved in pieces and leaving a heart to fall. Before landing, it floated just above the ground before it morphed to Weevil again, minus the Giant Moth's body. He may have been in some green clothes but he was out.

"Weevil!" Tristan called as they gathered around the fallen duelist.

"I'm positive he'll be okay, now that he's no longer a Heartless," Donald reassured.

"I'm not too sure about it," Joey doubted. "He's known to lie and cheat." It's a bad thing Weevil's still alive? Pikachu was still trying to understand how Ash wasn't shocked as well. He's not the only one.

"How were you able to take Summoned Skull's attack?" Téa wondered. "I was certain that you'd be fried in that torrent!" Ash pointed to the ribbon, his savior.

"I should have more faith to the guy who gave me this anti-ailment ribbon," he huffed. Pikachu and Serenity shuttered at the thought of a girly ribbon actually protecting him from drowning, electrocution and poison in one go.

"A little ribbon protected you from all that?" Serenity gulped. Certainly looked like it did. Ash put the keyblade away to think about Weevil.

"Anyway, we need to reach Kaiba and help out with his software problem. Serenity, you stay here with Gramps." Serenity's nod stoked Tristan and Duke to approach Ash.

"If Maleficent is here for Serenity, we can keep her safe," Duke promised. Tristan agreed to helping guard Joey's sister. The three hoisted Weevil inside as the rest, guided by Mokuba, to Kaiba Corp. What could be at Kaiba's business that was causing all the problems? And is Serenity the princess?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	14. Monster Card Sharks, Part 2

_Chapter 14: Monster Card Sharks, Part 2_

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The skyscraper overlooking Domino City. The letters of a blue "K" and orange "C" on the structure and statues of dragons stood. This was Kaiba Corp. Ash, Pikachu, Goofy, Donald, Yugi, Joey, Téa, Mai, Mokuba and Summoned Skull arrived. "So this is your brother's workforce?" Ash questioned Mokuba.

"It's headquarters," he replied. "This is where our adoptive father was CEO before Seto and I bought out the company." The animals were stunned to learn that Mokuba and Seto were orphans. Ash was just surprised that Mokuba had money to help with overthrowing their dad. "It's also where the Duel Disk was dreamed and later created by an outside department." What did these Duel Disks look like?

"We took off and put our Duel Disks away on word of the outbreak still going on," Yugi clarified. "No doubt Rex's was damaged and he threw his away after Weevil morphed into a Heartless Great Moth." That would explain why no Duel Disks were present when Ash and his team arrived. Mokuba brought out a card but gasped before sliding the card through the reader. "LOCKDOWN" popped on the LED strip.

"It's in lock down?" Ash gave a look back and found the explanation: Heartless...and lots.

"Ambush!" Ash announced where everyone looked to the swarm.

"Did whoever send these want an entire army on preppy boy in there?" Joey assumed. He forgot why Ash and the animals were there.

"They're after every world's princess, not prince." But hearing himself made him think as to why the swarm would be attacking. Tristan and Duke botched who the princess was. "Plus, it seems like they aren't after your sister!" If not, could it be Mai or Téa or a Monster with one of the duelist? Joey sighed in relief now knowing Serenity's life wasn't in danger.

"Boy, won't those hound dogs feel like idiots now that we know these guys aren't after Serenity. We can let little brother try to hack Kaiba's programs." Yugi stepped up as well as Joey, Goofy and Donald. Joey presented an orange card to the Heartless. "I don't know if this counts but I'm willing to try. Go, Fiend Megacyber!" The flash of the card blinded the Heartless and out popped a yellow steel machine standing like a human but wore a loincloth. Mai realized the facts of the new monster.

"I get it," she figured. "Fiend Megacyber can be special summoned if the opponent has at least two more monsters on their side than the one with that card. In a sense, the Heartless were Fiend Megacyber's ticket in." A wise move by Joey. Yugi would be the first to strike.

"Summoned Skull, Dark Lightning Strike!" he commanded. Summoned Skull released a powerful spark at the Shadows, Dark Balls and Armored but the strikes looked like it didn't work. "But how?!" It worked against Weevil.

"Aren't Fiend Megacyber and Summoned Skull Dark-Attribute Monsters?" Téa tried to remember. It didn't explain why the attack worked on Weevil and not the Heartless.

"Maybe they're immune to fiends like Summoned Skull," Mai theorized. Still, no explanation. Ash summoned his keyblade from the DigiWorld. Speed to him was key.

"We got this," Ash offered. Donald and Goofy reached Ash and prepared to attack. They weren't going to move.

"White Lightning Attack!" another voice roared out. Three enormous blue dragons emerged and shot a unified stream of shiny lightning, wiping the Heartless clean. The group felt relieved that they didn't waste energies but wondered who sent these dragons to attack. "I'm surprised you would use fiends to attack beings of shadows." Everyone turned to a tall teenage brunette young man in a sleek silver trench coat. "I thought the King of Games knew better about understanding how Dark monsters behave." Yugi gritted the back talk of the brunette.

"Kaiba!" he snapped. The brunette scoffed and came toward Ash, taking stock of the keyblade.

"I thought something seemed off when that green-faced woman messed with the Duel Disk Network. Something about a key used as a weapon. Didn't want to believe it, honestly...and that's not mentioning the anthropomorphic dog and duck." Goofy and Donald backed off and left Ash to fend for himself.

"I take it you want me to help get your networks going again," he assumed. Kaiba turned back towards the headquarters.

"Let's get inside." Listening, the group followed Kaiba as he entered Kaiba Corp.

"Sorry about Seto," Mokuba apologized. "His work has become his life and I do try to help out." Kaiba and work in a marriage of sorts? Before Joey and Yugi joined, they realized their monsters were still present...and too big to get through the door.

"I hate to substitute our monsters," Joey mulled. Yugi understood as they brought out both cards, one of them orange in Yugi's hand while Joey held a purple one.

"Thank you for your help, Summoned Skull," he praised. "I sacrifice Summoned Skull and call forth...Dark Magician Girl!" Summoned Skull vanished in a blinding flash and out emerged a blond girl in a blue garment and pink linens that covered everything from between the shoulders and thighs with a piece of a pink tutu skirt draping the waist. Her headwear looked like a crossover of a visor and a curved witch's pointy hat. She held a staff that had a gold swirl on top. She glanced over to Yugi, an urge to say something bothering her.

"Pharaoh, I sensed an unusual energy," she brought up. "Never one from before." From all Dark Magician Girl knew, that energy was from Ash whom she's yet to meet. Or it could be Maleficent.

"We all feel the unbalanced nature lurking inside Kaiba Corp.," Yugi acknowledged. "It's better to keep a strong defense with us." Dark Magician Girl understood but Joey wasn't ready.

"Before we go in, let me make a substitution myself," he wove. "Okay, I sacrifice Fiend Megacyber for my hard-hitter, Flame Swordsman!" Fiend Megacyber vanished in a flash and what stood instead was a grown man in a blue suit and an orange helmet. In the hand was an orange broad sword. "Keep your eyes peeled, buddy. That sword could be our lifeline." FSM slowly nodded as Yugi and Dark Magician Girl entered the headquarters. Inside a college classroom-sized room, women working on computers trying to divulge the reason behind the phenomenon with the monsters.

"The Duel Disk Network has been my pride since taking over my adoptive father's business," Seto explained. "Someone crafty to alter the network is a violation, not just to the world of Duel Monsters but to my pride and glory as the president of this company." Seto's taking this seriously. "When I saw a duel end with the loser morphed into that hideous mutation of human and Duel Monster through the Duel Tracker, I rushed to suspend all duels until the problems were resolved." A decision Rex and Weevil ignored.

"If only those two back at the shop listened, Weevil would've been in a better condition," Ash growled.

"Those two..." Seto groaned to learn about those who threw caution to the wind. He refocused back on the subject at hand.

"Have you tried resetting the Network or directing another program to fix the issue?" Goofy suggested. A frustrated huff told the crew that Seto tried those ideas.

"I've tried resetting the supercomputer to return the programs to normal!" Seto slammed fists on the desk. "Nothing so far has worked! I know there's a way to break the system to fix the issue...but what else is there to try?" Ash could hack away at the supercomputer to give up the ghost, but that would be reckless. He summoned the default keyblade and swept it around the room. The keyblade didn't react. Was Ash expecting to find a keyhole? Ash believed it was something he's been overdoing.

"Maybe I need rest," he thought. "I haven't had much of a chance to calm down since the Monster World with Genki." He believed he's exhausted himself through all the traveling. "That, or Maleficent hid this one pretty good." Let's not give credit without cause to present it.

"I'd suggest rest," Pikachu offered. Yugi, Joey and their new "monsters" arrived just as an alarm blared.

"What now?!" Téa wondered. Activity read on one screen noted by a computer operator.

"I'm picking up some strange activity around the Practice Duel Arenas," she reported. "Should I investigate it?" Ash had an idea on what the activity was.

"I'll look into it," he offered, startling the Kaiba brothers.

"This is my company," Seto scorned. "I make the decisions." Before Mokuba could ask what Ash could have in mind, the screens on all the computers became static. All watched on, hoping to get the screens functioning. That's when Maleficent popped her mug with a scowl of her own.

"Seto Kaiba..." she called out. "And the keyblade runt. Seeing me should tell you what I've done to your creatures. I want you to experience fear as you vainly protect your princess." The green-faced woman sneered and infuriated Seto.

"I thought Team Rocket had nothing compared to this witch," Ash murmured. "Hard to pull off 'even less' but Maleficent's done it." Right now wasn't really the time to offer compliments. Seto wondered about the message given from the villain.

"Perhaps you can explain what she means by a princess," he wanted answers. How?

"As do I," Dark Magician Girl added. Yugi had a theory and stood up.

"Perhaps someone who holds a power to unlock something that could end all that's existing," he hypothesized. "But who and what power could she be after?" Ash didn't want some guesses.

"Whatever the prize, I was given the task of protecting the princesses of the universe," he responded. "Not to forget the keyholes opened by her." Regardless of Seto's position, Ash ran off with Pikachu, Goofy, Donald...and Dark Magician Girl who flew alongside. Seeing the girl, Ash wondered why she tagged along. "What are you-"

"I told Pharaoh about a strange energy I was picking up," Dark Magician Girl informed. "You might know about it more than Pharaoh and his friends." Ash wasn't confident but felt that he could be the one to stop whatever this corporation needed.

"We'll know when we get there." As the signs pointed to the Training Arenas, the keyblade was aglow. "We're getting close." The glowing keyblade alerted Donald, believing...

"The keyhole's around here!" he quacked. They entered the "TRAINING ARENA" room where they stood on a catwalk facing an unusual field. The field had a large rectangle in the middle with 20 squares, 10 on each side line up in a five-by-two grid. Across from one end was the keyhole guarded by two helmeted Gigas Shadows. "Allow me!" Donald stood up and everyone stepped a foot behind. He stuck his wand out. "Blizzard!" The wand fired shards of ice, sniping the Heartless and releasing their hearts. "Ash?" The trainer stepped up and fired a beam at the keyhole. A few seconds and a click later, the keyhole vanished. Another world sealed.

"All in a day's work," Goofy giggled. "Hyuk!" That's when there was clapping. All turned to an old mustached man in a maroon business suit.

"So, finally I meet the boy the horned lady advised me about after resurrecting me," he gloated. The boy wondered about who he was. Seto and Yugi knew this man back with the computers.

"Isn't that Gozaburo?" Yugi wondered.

"That witch revived our father?" he stammered. "The nerve of her!" Gozaburo was Seto and Mokuba's old man? Gozaburo gazed at Ash and his friends.

"My adoptive boys have done so much since I lost Kaiba Corp.," he complimented. "However, I'll be taking back my company with this second chance to be alive." That's when he presented an orange card with 12 stars. It was a black stoned man who appeared to have an orb of energy building. "I've already sacrificed the pieces of Exodia and all I need to do is bring this card to the surface." Gozaburo turned the card to pray and everyone on the other side noticed something weird: the back of the card was pitch black. "Exodia Necros! Come to life!" A flash occurred and there stood a tall black statue which groaned and black vapors billowed from it.

"Exodia Necros isn't normal, and that's not including the infinite Attack and Defensive power," Dark Magician Girl stuttered. Finally, a challenge for Ash. He stood firm.

"I'm sure there's something to break down this titan," he grinned. Yugi and Mokuba appeared, the smaller one with a card in hand.

"Father!" he shouted. Gozaburo looked up to the young boy.

"Mokuba, how has your abusive brother treated you?" he sneered, hoping Mokuba would turn his back to his bigger brother.

"Don't listen to him, Mokuba," Yugi motivated. "He's trying to make you deceive your brother."

"I know, Yugi," Mokuba stuttered. "But... he's my father!" To Mokuba, this was family. On the other hand, Ash knew that Gozaburo wasn't who he claimed.

"Nope!" he chuckled. "Elder Kaiba is a Heartless. Dad's not really here." Gozaburo wasn't real. "Same goes for this black Exodia. One attack should put both down for good." Gozaburo mulled under his breath while Ash jumped on the battlefield.

"You will lose here, you stubborn boys," he growled. "Exodia Necros...Attack with Dark Oblivion!" The Exodia charged a shot at Ash but Mokuba drew first.

"That's what you think!" he roared. "I play Soul Release! This Magic Card allows me to remove five cards in your Graveyard...and I know which five. The Left Arm of the Forbidden One!" The left arm of Exodia burst to a rusted orange color. "The Right Arm of the Forbidden One!" Now the right arm changed. "The Left Leg of the Forbidden One!" Exodia's left leg switched colors. "The Right Leg of the Forbidden One!" Exodia's right leg morphed color-wise. "Finally, the head: Exodia the Forbidden One!" The head switched to finish the Magic Card's effect.

"Thanks a lot, Mokuba!" Ash cheered. "Now here's my move!" Ash charged at Exodia who released a blast of energy. Ash swatted the energy. KA-BOOM! The concussive blast looked bad but Ash stood like it was nothing. Dark Magician Girl got to Ash's side in which Yugi gave the command.

"Dark Magician Girl, let's stop Gozaburo for good," he smirked. "Love Magic Attack!" Dark Magician Girl fired a beam which ripped Exodia and Gozaburo askew, leaving nothing behind. It was over here. Ash put his keyblade away, satisfied with the finishing touch while Dark Magician Girl vanished, her duty complete.

"Guess Exodia isn't invincible." Exodia can end a match but one that remains leave a weakness.

"Sometimes the strongest attack doesn't need to be in attack mode. We should help him up and return to your brother." Mokuba nodded and both extended a rope which Ash effortlessly climbed. When Ash was back with the rest, an explosion from within. Mokuba knew where the blast came from.

"Back in the computer room!" he recognized. All returned to the room in shambles. The computers were totaled, everyone was on the ground and whatever did this got away. Seto struggled to stand. "Seto!" Yugi, Goofy and Donald tended to the rest, leaving Ash and Joey, clutching his chest.

"T...Téa..." he weakly muttered. "Flame Swordsman...couldn't..." Ash's confidence dipped and worry was his comfort to Joey.

"Take it easy," he eased. Joey relented, breathing to recover. Ash determined that Téa was the princess and Ash failed to protect her from Maleficent. A little while later, all were back at the shop where Mokuba gave an update on those hurt by the attack.

"Joey, Seto and the programmers are in stable condition," he informed. "They'll be off their feet for some time." Tristan and Duke were surprised about the discovery and absence of Téa, not Serenity in being the princess.

"This whole time, we thought Serenity was who Maleficent was after," Duke muttered.

"And now our buddy's in the hospital because of our mistake," Tristan groaned. Yugi, shrinking back to normal, felt just as admissible about letting their guard down with defending Téa. Tristan and Duke had no ground to stand on with the details since they chose the wrong girl.

"I guess all we can do is hope for Téa's safe return," Serenity moaned. Yugi and Ash nodded. That's when Serenity brought out a card. "Ash, thank you for helping Domino City with the infestation of Duel Monsters. Joey wanted you to have this. He said it was glowing from his deck." Handed the card, he examined the picture of a reddish-brown scaly dragon with enormously huge claws. The name sealed the deal.

"The Claw of Hermos," he read. Suddenly, the card pulsed. Goofy and Donald thought Ash was getting a new keyblade to his arsenal. A flash blinded the room. After the flash, all looked to Ash who held a new keyblade: dragon scales around the ring protecting the handle and the hilt. The prongs appeared like the claws from the picture. Examining the keyblade, Ash wondered what special abilities came from the new item. "Welcome aboard, Hermos. I may need you." No one had an idea about what happened to Joey's card.

"So he's handed a card and it becomes a sword... How?" Duke gawked, rather puzzled. Serenity wasn't done.

"Promise all of us that you'll bring Téa back," she softly urged. A nod from all four travelers accepted the promise Serenity issued. They left for the Gummi Ship, Ash in need of some rest. Before getting on, Donald noticed Yugi coming from behind.

"Wait up!" he yelped. Donald and Ash spun to see Yugi approaching. "Glad I caught you before you left." Must have been important.

"What's up?" Donald asked. Yugi pulled out one of his cards and gave it to Ash.

"Dark Magician Girl wanted to go along with you. She felt that you needed some extra protection as you find Téa and everyone else that Maleficent took." This intrigued Ash. Dark Magician Girl providing help to those unfamiliar with the world? "As soon as Kaiba's recovered and the Network restored, we can begin dueling again." Good news but it didn't replace what happened to Téa.

"She may prove useful," Ash speculated. "I'll bring her back safely." On that exchange, Ash boarded the Gummi Ship just as it departed. In a lower section and out of his sweat-tee, Ash lied on a mattress gazing at Dark Magician Girl's picture. Was he doubting his words. "I wonder if Dark Magician Girl was actually real, not like someone posing a picture wearing that." That's when his eyes got heavy and soon drifted to sleep. Dark Magician Girl emerged somewhat visible as Tinker Bell, coming out of Ash's sweat-tee pocket, watched on.

"Ash..." she quietly called out as her ghostly body laid on top of Ash and appeared to give him a kiss... forcing jealousy to the winged blond. She raced after her but Dark Magician Girl vanished and Tinker Bell slammed into a wall. She fell on the mattress out like a light. At least Tinker Bell's getting some time before the next world is in need of rescuing.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...

(Looks like the next world will revolve around "Tangled." There will be humor so grab some padding for the next chapter. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.)


	15. One Hairy Situation, Part 1

_Chapter 15: One Hairy Situation, Part 1 (Yes, the title is a pun. I apologize to anyone who wanted something better.)_

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Ash has to be one lucky dude. First was the redhead female Sora who didn't want to let go of him, Tinker Bell that looked rather attached and now Dark Magician Girl offering a little love to Ash, though Tinker Bell would disapprove. After some sleep, Ash woke to a strange suspicion. "Why do I have a feeling someone kissed me?" he wondered. That's when he spotted Tinker Bell sawing logs alongside. He started to think this was who got him in the lips. He scooped the pixie and wondered if she, being so tiny, would fall for someone around 20 times her size. Tinker Bell woke and looked up at Ash with that same befuddled look. "Did you get a piece of me while I napped?" Tinker Bell blushed, thinking that he didn't like getting love without knowing what was coming. However, the blush made Ash smile. He didn't mind it? It forced a smile from Tinker Bell, even though Dark Magician Girl was the culprit. Stepping out to the bridge, Donald was in control of the Gummi Ship zooming through space. Seeing Ash's blushing smile had Donald thinking something good occurred.

"You look like you had a nice nap," he quacked. Ash scoffed to the remark, not bothered by it by the least. He's more curious as to where Pikachu and Goofy departed off to.

"No one but you here?" Donald shrugged his feathers.

"They insisted. I think they're following your lead." Ash had a funny thought to why.

"It's not because I hold the keyblade, right?" Donald shook his beak.

"We've been pretty busy fighting Maleficent and the Heartless. A little rest is what the doctor ordered." Who's the doctor? Suddenly, the monitor blared. The next world was fast approaching. "Good timing on waking up. The next world." It's a good start but where.

"Name of new world?" A name didn't really register on the screen.

"Kingdom of Corona." Nifty name. Still, if Heartless were terrorizing this land, it had to be dealt with. They landed the Gummi Ship by the outskirts like always and headed through a thicket of trees while leaving their partners to snooze. "You sure we should leave Pikachu and Goofy with the ship? What if Team Rocket find their way here?" Apparently, Donald forgot what Tifa did to them. Even Ash knew that Team Rocket finding them in this huge universe was virtually impossible.

"Team Rocket has to deal with Tifa, Leon, Cid, Aerith and Cloud if he visits." A thought that didn't really stir in the duck's mind.

"I forgot what Tifa did to that immature redhead." It was a recollection which Ash enjoyed watching. As they journeyed, a lack of Heartless showing up got Ash questioning if Donald checked the condition of activity before departing. "Don, how bad is the infestation of Heartless here?"

"It read that it was low but slowly rising." There could be another area which might have a worse problem than here. So why stop here with barely any Heartless around? "Let's take care of the keyhole before this gets worse off." Minimizing damage was the strategy. Ash stopped his feet when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Heartless with helmets and those Heartless with colored skirts. They seemed ready to hunt down their targets.

"Maleficent's organizing checkpoints for the Heartless to roam. Let's hurry away before they know we're here." A wise idea. Both scampered out of the way just as a Shadow peered over. Nothing? Escaping, they huddled by a tower deep in the woods.

"I think that was a wise move we did. Who knows where those Heartless could emerge from?" A risk as a twosome weren't willing to gamble. The two now regretting not bringing the rest for this trip?

"It does bite," Ash mulled as he summoned the keyblade that originally was Joey's Claw of Hermos. "I wanted to give this a ride. I can wait until we know the ordeal occurring." He's mentally hurt that he hadn't had a chance to try his new keyblade. Those two need a boost.

"Excuse me!" a teenage girl's voice spoke down. The noise alerted the boys and had them looking left and right. "Up here!" The trainer and duck finally did as the girl told them to look: up the tower to the lone window. Peering out was a blond teen girl in a lavender gown. "What's a boy doing with a talking duck? Weird..." Ash had to one-up her claim.

"I deal with a talking cat Pokémon on a daily basis. It's not all off the norm." Meowth has to feel appreciated on that remark. That's when Donald figured something out.

"Wait a minute..." he gasped. "You wouldn't be Rapunzel, would you?" The teen blinked in surprise that a duck of all things that don't normally speak like a human would know who he's talking about.

"Yeah...that's me," she confirmed. Donald snapped his wing in delight.

"I knew it!" Ash was left in the dark about who this was.

"What do you mean?" he wondered. Donald gawked in shock at how clueless Ash was to the identity of Rapunzel.

"You've never heard of the fairytale of Rapunzel? She has the longest hair EVER! Someone saw the long hair and said this." He reeled Ash in to whisper what the fairytale had. Rapunzel watched in amusement, shaking her head to the clueless boy. Breaking the huddle, Donald winged Ash in the back for courage. "Give it a try." Ash acted apprehensive to the approach.

"Do I have to?" The more Ash wanted to refuse, the more Donald pushed on. "Alright already!" He cleared his throat and Rapunzel could wonder the ordeal. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Lend...down...your..." Why was he hesitating? Sora getting jealous? Misty back home? Whatever the case, Ash wasn't doing it. "No! Forget it! I'm not going through with! No way!" Seeing Ash walk off in anger startled Donald.

"Can't say I was expecting that." Neither was Rapunzel.

"Tell me about it," she shrugged. "Do you know how long I've been here? Mom hasn't let me out of the tower and I know I'm 18." Must be a long time. Ash returned to the tower after that little fit. Was he going to try the phrase again?

"Why do I need your hair to climb the tower when I can simply do it myself?" he argued as he gripped the bricks forming the tower. Donald saw it as a useless gimmick.

"You're not serious about it," he mulled. Ash snagged brick after brick in climbing the tower. He's starting to make some progress.

"I've climbed mountains...trees...this shouldn't be that much different!" He started jumping up the mountain as if it wasn't hard enough to simply climb it in the first place.

"I can throw my hair down to you for a lifeline," Rapunzel offered. Ash looked rather comfortable just scaling without support.

"Thanks...but I think I got it down! And I think it's a good thing my hat was left on the ferry to begin with." Amazingly, he reached the window and hoisted himself through it. Donald gawked at the athleticism Ash displayed.

"Wow, he made that look easy!" he awed. Ash saw the barefoot Rapunzel and saw...lots and lots of hair, the blond hair shimmering like it was gold. Now it was Ash's turn to gawk.

"This is why you wanted to help me?" he stuttered. He picked the hair up, somewhat admiring the locks. "Haven't you thought about cutting your hair at least once?" Rapunzel rolled her eyes, unnerved by the obvious question.

"I have on multiple occasions but Mom said that my hair is special and won't let me chop it off," she stammered. To Ash, it was just hair but to Rapunzel, it held something important. As he wondered about the length and why a mother would let it grow to unbelievable reach...

"Rapunzel!" stormed a grown brunette woman in a maroon dress. "What did I tell you about your hair as a rope?" She's accusing Rapunzel of helping Ash up when he did it on his own.

"Mom, no, he scaled up here on his own! He refused my hair!" Ash vouched to Rapunzel's claim.

"She called me up and-" he stopped speaking when an ominous aura invoked his senses. Reason would seem absolute when Maleficent came up. Rapunzel and the older brunette turned to see the green-faced woman in the horned black cloak.

"So the keyblade user has found the courage to face me alone without his partners," she sneered. This was a sudden turn of events for Ash. Usually, she'd show up to claim the princess of the world his team would visit after her Heartless softened them up.

"I thought you'd wait backstage for us and steal the limelight," he came back. "Besides, Donald's still down there waiting for me to come back down." An oversight Maleficent didn't mind.

"And I've noticed your collection of keyblades. You've grown since I first saw you and your large mouse drift to Twilight Town." Ash's instincts kicked in from Maleficent's grin.

"I doubt you dropped by to compliment me, right?" Maleficent scoffed, enjoying this exchange.

"True enough. I came to let you know those princesses you protected from me in the DigiWorld and Port Royal are now in my possession." News of Elizabeth and Kari now in Maleficent's grasp didn't sit well with him. Five princesses now held against their will by this dark fiend. That wasn't all. "She is next." Maleficent didn't waste time acknowledging Rapunzel as the next princess. Rapunzel couldn't believe Maleficent's wording.

"Hold on," she spoke up. "I'm the princess? I've been stuck here for as long I can remember!" A brave antagonist, Maleficent walked by Ash and Rapunzel toward the window as the brunette stepped up by the blond.

"Do you remember lights flying by the village over there?" Rapunzel's mind pictured nights where lights floated from the populous area on certain days.

"Yeah, they appear around my birthday. What's so significant about it?" The brunette's reaction of back peddling was a good sign it involved her in some way, shape or form. Ash heard the clicking of heels to turn to her. Immediately, something about her behavior sparked suspicion.

"Care to explain your retreating?" he questioned. The brunette struggled to tell her reasons.

"Mom, is there something you're not telling me?" Rapunzel wondered. The mother still held her tongue. Maleficent had the information and stood to tell Rapunzel the truth.

"Gothel, why did you take Rapunzel from the kingdom?" she urged for detail. Ash and Rapunzel gasped in shock. The brunette, Gothel, tried to find a way to deflect the blame from her.

"Rapunzel..." she staggered. "You know well enough that I look out for your best interest." Rapunzel, believing Maleficent, couldn't understand her point.

"Mom, how could you?" she whimpered in dismay, forgetting for a moment that Gothel isn't really her biological mother. "If- If you are my mom!" Ash could hang around for answers but he summoned the keyblade from Port Royal, thinking back to how he fended off Weevil.

"If I recall, you saw a drop of sunlight and made a flower which could cure people suffering all sorts of illnesses and diseases," Maleficent described. "You, out of greed and knowledge of what this flower is capable of, kept the flower for yourself." Ash had heard enough of the conflict between Maleficent and Gothel.

"Here's my opinion," he voiced, making the elder women spin to her. "You two need to clean up your act!" He slammed the keyblade, splashing a torrent of water and striking the women as Ash and Rapunzel leaped out the window, Rapunzel's long blond locks floating down as well. Donald saw the floating pair and used Blizzard to cushion their descent. The landing was smooth. Rapunzel gathered her hair which all three dashed or waddled off by webbed feet, bare feet or street shoes.

"What the heck was going on?" Donald asked. Rapunzel still had a hard time fathoming herself as the princess despite not being in the kingdom. Following in pursuit was a horde of Heartless. Ash stopped while the other two kept pace for a second. "Ash, we gotta hurry!" Ash summoned the latest keyblade.

"I got this! Get Rapunzel to the Gummi Ship!" Ash wove the keyblade, ready for battle. The keyblade's claws began emitting fire. "Okay, Hermos. Show me what earned you the spot in Joey's deck." Ash charged and slashed away, burning the Heartless and dispersing the hearts from within. The path Ash took left a few streaks of fire airborne. It's as if the claws scratched the air and left its mark.

"Amazing how he used that sword," Rapunzel huffed. "I didn't know it could do that." Donald scoffed, knowing what the keyblade could do.

"That's the keyblade when Ash uses it," Donald briefed. With a flick of his wrist, the keyblade vanished. He faced a conundrum. Returning to the ship would get Goofy and Pikachu back in the lineup, should they be awake by the fact that the Gummi Ship had stopped. Knowing that Rapunzel's the princess had to come in play somehow. He was also intrigued with this flower that Gothel hoarded for the long time and how it relates to Rapunzel.

"Don, can you explain some more about Rapunzel?" he thought. "And how a flower that stemmed from a sun drop has to do with her?" Donald cupped his beak, trying ti find a way to tell Ash without upsetting Rapunzel.

"Let's see... If I remember right, a drop of pure sunlight hit the earth and created a special flower. The flower had a way of dispelling any ailment a person could have. The fairytale said that a kingdom's queen was very sick and nearly dead when one of his royal guard found the flower and a special stew was created from the flower. The queen, who was pregnant, drank the brew and she was an all new person who gave birth to a daughter with golden blond hair..." A look at Rapunzel combing her hair had her realize that the fairytale, beyond belief, talked about her.

"...Like I do," she concluded. "So the legend was about...me?"

"Exactly...except for the fact that Ash scaled the tower using the stone bricks and not your hair, let alone not saying the phrase, 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel...lend down your golden hair!' Why didn't you say it? Sora on your mind still?" Ash knew Donald meant the Digidestined, still relented to say a word about her.

"Even if what you say is supposed to happen, I don't go messing with someone's hair," he admitted with volume. He's real sensitive. "I mean...I don't fool around with my hair so why should I when it's another person like Misty or Sora or Rapunzel's?" _Real _sensitive. Suddenly, horse hooves trotting alerted the trio to peer. Out of the wood...or rather in it...a white stallion with a blond mane and tail pranced forward. A saddle laid on its back and a sword in its mouth. What horse carries a sword, let alone one in the teeth? Ash felt like bringing a keyblade, perhaps Hermos once more but played it rather cautiously. The horse made its way to Ash and sniffed it. It lifted the head and did nothing else. It whiffed Rapunzel who got a little excited about a creature like this.

"Easy, easy!" she giggled, the horse's sniffs frazzling her. "You're awfully friendly, regardless of this sword. Are you lost? I mean, you're wearing this. I've seen people ride horses like you from the tower." The horse retreated a little and dropped the sword where Ash picked it up. This wasn't one of his many keyblades.

"How can a horse use a sword?" Donald pondered. "Or should I ask why it has a sword to begin with?" Ash examined the blade closely.

"Double-edged," he noted. "Meant for short-range and max damage." The horse heard something from Ash and came over. Ash saw the horse, thinking it wanted the sword back. He looked through the saddle but couldn't find a place to put the blade. A noise suddenly alerted the horse, then the other three. The horse determined the location of the rustle, spun around and mule kicked the tree. The kick rocked a suave brunette man in a teal vest over a white long-sleeve and slacks. He fell from his perch...on his face. That's about as hard of a landing Ash had seen. "That has to hurt." The man wove his hand saying he's okay.

"I've had higher falls..." he confessed, his voice muffled by the dirt. The horse growled at the new visitor. Rapunzel snagged the reins to hold the horse back at Ash helped the man with the goatee. "Sorry I scared you." The horse had murderous looks in his eyes, nowhere near startled.

"What were you doing up in the trees?" Rapunzel asked. The man fumbled an explanation. Perhaps the horse was giving him trouble.

"Easy there, Max! I can return you to the Royal Guards, you know that!" The horse furrowed his brow...if it could. "Thanks for making sure I'm alright. Flynn Rider, at your service." Ash huffed an impressed smirk to the name.

"That's a name I can support," he praised. "Ash Ketchum." Ash and Flynn shook hands when Rapunzel walked up.

"Mr. Rider?" she called. She's worried about Maleficent and Gothel on their trail. "Can you bring me toward the kingdom? It's pretty urgent." Flynn hesitated an answer. Was there something about the kingdom he didn't want to see? The horse's scorn didn't help matters as well. Hearing the heavy snouts, Ash came over to try to make sense to the armed stallion.

"We're being tailed by an evil witch and another woman who kidnapped Rapunzel," he whispered. The horse's eyes lit up in shock, even though Pikachu wasn't nearby. "Besides, you know how to use a sword, though it's unusual to see something like you with a weapon." Weren't there Pokémon that use weapons? "You can help us out." The horse could trust Ash and thinking how important Rapunzel was to the journey, but still gazed violently at Flynn. It bobbed a nod to Ash. Trust accomplished. "Okay, let's get to the kingdom. Rapunzel, I'll help you on the horse." Rapunzel's hair flowed around Flynn who awed the length. Even he had to appreciate the extremely long strand of golden blond hair. Ash boosted Rapunzel on the horse before she gathered her hair.

"To the kingdom!" Donald quacked before the growing group departed for the kingdom. Meanwhile in the Gummi Ship, Pikachu had risen from his sleep and turned to Goofy who watched the monitor for where Ash and Donald were on the bridge.

"Goofy, where did Ash go?" Goofy watched on, gathering information on their new setting.

"Apparently, he and Donald left to take care of the Heartless here," he summed up. That's when a beep got both to look to the screen. A keyhole icon in the village. "Hyuk, looky there!" This gave Pikachu a theory and an idea.

"I bet Ash and Donald came to close up the hole. Let's go meet them in that village." Goofy never thought this mouse had the same smarts as Ash.

"Gwarsh, you certainly take after Ash, huh?"

"I may have borrowed his habits but I know what goes on. Let's hustle." Goofy and Pikachu headed out to the kingdom, the same way the others were traveling to. Who would reach the kingdom first?

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	16. One Hairy Situation, Part 2

_Chapter 1__6: One Hairy Situation, Part 2_

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Two groups, one larger than the other. Ash, Donald, Flynn and Rapunzel were in one while Pikachu and Goofy teamed up, both sides heading toward the kingdom. Night fell. A campfire burned and it's fortunate that Rapunzel's long hair didn't fall in the fire. As Flynn returned with more firewood, the horse was not in the best of moods, snarling at the brunette. "I never bothered to ask but why are you on your way to the kingdom?" he asked. Ash and Rapunzel glared at Flynn with an answer made in the making.

"I want to know if the rulers of the kingdom are really my mom and dad," she murmured, still rather disheveled about her real birthplace. "I've spent almost all of my life held in that tower by someone who forced me to believe she's my mom until Ash and that horned woman said that she kidnapped me as a baby." Ash was still baffled that Maleficent actually helped them clarify Rapunzel's origins when she's the enemy.

"You know, she's still on our tails," he reminded. A note Rapunzel didn't want reminded. "I still wonder about her intentions of taking the princesses. She's already got a handful of them." Rapunzel worried about Maleficent's plans and why she requires plenty of women. She knew she's next. Flynn had a disturbed look on him.

"I can tell you one mystery that I made on myself that I need to confess," he opened up. "My name isn't Flynn Rider. It's Eugene Fitzherbert. I borrowed Flynn from a book when I was an orphan reading to others 'The Tales of Flynnigan Rider.' I adored him since he found himself on adventures and wanted to be on some of my own for the thrill and the steal." To hear Flynn...or Eugene admit these notes, Rapunzel started understanding him, smiling a little.

"I actually prefer Eugene anyway," she opted. "Though I wish you were honest in the first place." Eugene huffed an embarrassed laugh. Before long, everyone fell asleep but Ash stayed awake, remembering the ribbon Cloud gave him which helped in his fight against Weevil. He removed the ribbon and gazed at the long hair of Rapunzel. During the night, her hair became his experiment. The next morning, Rapunzel's eyes opened up to the sun, still with Ash, Eugene, Donald and the horse. That's when she felt something in her hair: Cloud's ribbon. Her hair was bunched up and the ribbon held it together. To her, it was a quick fix. As soon as the rest were awake, they advanced to the town which was pretty lively. None suspected Goofy and Pikachu to be there. Kids gathered around Rapunzel and removed the ribbon from her long long hair. They must like hair more than Ash because they braided it and scrunched it so that the hair wasn't dragging dirt and debris, "Thank you so much!" The kids went on their merry ways...or so they thought when a royal guardsman spotted the horse.

"Maximus, there you are!" he scowled as he ripped it away by the reins. "Where have you been, you bad horse?!" Maximus struggled against the might of the guardsman. "I don't care if you're an elite, you disobeyed commands by your rider! It's no wonder the princess's crown jewels were absconded by those thieves!" This was a developing story. The crown jewels and Maximus against Flynn/Eugene. Ash's thoughts turned to the scruffy man eager to know any details.

"I have a feeling you might know about these crown jewels, Eugene?" he sneered. Eugene shook his head in denial.

"Not me but there were some brothers I know who could have taken the jewels," he tried to direct blame to someone else. Ash wasn't really accepting this.

"The Royal Guardsman's horse on you and you're claiming innocent?" Eugene had to think fast.

"So I know the Stabbington Brothers but they're greedier than I am." Ash didn't bite. What else could Eugene be hiding. He wouldn't be able to ask when...

"Ash!" Goofy and Pikachu called out. The rest spotted the oncoming mouse and dog.

"Did you two have a nice nap?" Donald teased. Goofy itched his head in some humiliation.

"Uh, maybe?" he hushed. Pikachu came up to Rapunzel, interested to know who she was.

"What's up with your hair?" he gawked. "It's huge!" All Rapunzel did was giggle.

"You're awfully adorable for a talking mouse," she cooed as she rubbed her cheeks with Pikachu's, tickling the Pokémon.

"Anyway, we found the keyhole and fought off a few Heartless that were hanging around," Goofy updated. "We just need the keyblade to close it up." Ash nodded to the news, ready to seal this place. Through the kingdom's square, the bigger group found the keyhole where they knew Maleficent placed it. Rapunzel and Eugene were about to witness the keyblade wielder's duty.

"You know what to do, Ash," Donald encouraged. Ash pointed the keyblade of Hermos and shot a beam in the keyhole. A few seconds later, the lock sounded and the keyhole vanished, one more world sealed.

"What did that sound mean?" Rapunzel asked.

"No more Heartless will warp this world," Goofy clarified. To Eugene, something was amiss.

"Maybe, but what about those others after us?" he wondered. He had to mean Gothel and Maleficent. Gothel reached the group but seeing her was creepy. Her hair was pale gray and dried. Her skin wrinkled and decayed. She struggled through her rapidly aging body. There are walking fossils but this is ridiculous.

"Help!" she cried, her voice drying out. "Rapunzel, I need your hair! I'm dying!" Dramatic, maybe. Rapunzel's miraculous hair was bundled up. Eugene and Ash stood in front, the keyblade and Maximus's sword in front of her. How did Eugene get the horse's blade?

"Let it go, Gothel," Ash warned. "It was time she left your nest." Gothel wasn't pleased that she was denied access to Rapunzel.

"I will have Rapunzel and my youth if it's the last thing I do! Get them!" From behind Gothel, two muscular, scruffy redhead men in green shirts and slacks. One of those had a patch over an eye.

"Lovely," Eugene groaned. "The Stabbington Brothers. They were once partners in crime." Ash viewed and something caught his eyes: black mist steaming from the brothers.

"I think they're taking a step up from simple crime," he growled. "They're Heartless, now!" The brothers sneered at the group.

"Come on, Eugene!" the brother without the patch taunted.

"It's Stabbington time!" the other cackled. Ash was ready after swapping from Hermos to the one with the anchor. He must like getting his enemies wet. He twisted the keyblade and two snowflakes popped out. Two brothers, two snowflakes...easy equation. He sliced the snowflakes and slammed the ground. Geysers of snow blew up and covered the brothers before instantly freezing to pillars of ice. The brothers were stopped frozen in their tracks, literally. Ash raced over and slashed the ice pillars, hearts escaping before coming back down, reforming the brothers in a more bewildered state.

"Did Ash learn Blizzara?" Donald gulped. Was Blizzara stronger than Blizzard?

"He's been growing stronger than ever," Goofy studied. "He didn't give the Stabbingtons a chance." Woozy, the patched brother turned to his...twin, perhaps? They looked so much alike...

"That was a weird dream," he murmured.

"Yeah, really weird," the other muttered. Eugene came over and helped them up. "Hey, Eugene. What are you doing here?" Eugene placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's a long story, boys," he huffed, unaware of Gothel with a dagger creeping up behind him. Ash spotted the angered woman, Eugene in trouble.

"Watch out!" he cried out. Eugene turned around at the still rather mobile old woman. Rapunzel thought fast and used her hair like a lasso, wrapping up Gothel. Wrong move. Rapunzel pulled Gothel away but instead of getting upset, she laughed as her hair reverted back to raven-haired and her skin flattened of the wrinkles that formed. She was back to her younger self.

"Thank you, stupid girl," she mocked. "I knew you'd use those long locks to stop me." Rapunzel realized her mistake and while her hair kept Gothel in place, it also kept her youth. It was either Eugene or Gothel. Ash gripped his keyblade in anger that Gothel fooled Rapunzel to using her hair as a way to stay young. Even more was the same black mist emitting from her. "Now with my youth, we're going far away from this kingdom. It'll be you and me forever." The sneer from Gothel revealed no heart within her. As if it wasn't bad enough, Maleficent arrived. This was a devastating duo and Ash had to do something to keep Maleficent from taking Rapunzel. However, Gothel wasn't wanting to see Maleficent. "I can't let you have her! She's mine! I need her!" Maleficent would disagree, her hand facing the possessive woman.

"You have lived long enough, Gothel," she mulled. "Rapunzel is a princess of the light, a maiden for Ansem's revival." Was this what Maleficent aimed for? Someone to be brought back to life? The mist seeped out of Gothel and Maleficent absorbed the vapors via hand. Gothel's strength started to deteriorate.

"What's Maleficent doing?" Eugene wondered. If Donald and Goofy didn't know, don't bother Ash. Even with the hair cocooning her, her body shriveled up and soon decayed to dust. It was disturbing to see Gothel's youth and energy robbed and all that remained were debris. Rapunzel's hair fell to the ground.

"Let's face it, none of us actually liked her in the first place but she did raise Rapunzel for almost her life," Ash murmured. Eugene groaned. Was there a more humane way of dealing punishment to Gothel? A palm sent blasts of wind, blowing everyone but Ash back since he grounded his heavy keyblade, the stone shaped key-like sword from the Monster World. It wouldn't be enough as the prongs couldn't stay beneath the concrete. Rapunzel's hair was caught up in the winds that her long strands were hurting her more than helping, dragging her from the boys. Maleficent manipulated the winds and twisted the gales, twisting the hair in a cocoon. She then fired some energy shots and struck the boys and animals on the ground, knocking them away.

"You're struggling, keyblade wielder. Have you lost your ways now that I possess those you protected before?" Ash jumped to his feet, not giving up the fight.

"I haven't lost just yet!" Switching to the keyblade of Love, Light and Hope, he leaped in the air but Maleficent was itching to shoot more energy orbs. The keyblade sprinted Ash to super speed, evading Maleficent's attacks until he swung. CRACK! Maleficent blocked Ash's strike and redirected to Rapunzel. Realizing the action, Ash spun and snagged Rapunzel as they fell back down. The princess was back with Ash and untangled from her hairy mess but it was too soon to celebrate as Maleficent rained lightning, one stray bolt slicing through Rapunzel's hair. The girl collapsed to the group, her long hair torn from her head. The hair, much to his chagrin, was in Ash's arms which started to glow while the keyblade disappeared. Rapunzel's hair dyed itself from the golden blond to brunette, far shorter than it once was. She woke to kind her hair in Ash's arms aglow. He tried to fling it off but in doing so, a new keyblade emerged. The hilt was in the shape of a shield while the blade looked like Rapunzel's braided hair with the prongs appearing to be a comb. Talk about awkward. The keyblade from the DigiWorld had a mesmerizing look combining the Crests of Love, Light and Hope and the Hermos keyblade appeared fearsome. This...words couldn't state the unusual design enough. Even more unique was the keyblade's flexibility. It was very wobbly.

"Did that come from...my hair?" Rapunzel gawked. To Maleficent, this new keyblade was a joke.

"A weapon that cannot fight is merely a gimmick of the one who carries the burden," she sneered. "Therefore, I'll end your adventures and plunge the multiverses into darkness." She summoned a black scepter where she whipped up a green fireball. "You've provided entertainment but now, your show has reached its conclusion." Funny, since the last chapter ended with "TO BE CONTINUED...," not "TO BE CONCLUDED..." She tossed the green fireball but Ash had no choice but to use the new keyblade.

"I've yet to get paid for my show!" he stammered as he swung what seemed like vain. Never underestimate what a keyblade in Ash's hands can do. The comb struck the fireball, splitting it in half where each hit the dirt in mediocre blasts. Maleficent groaned. This couldn't get anymore ridiculous. Unfortunately... A flick of Ash's wrist had the keyblade snap the air, dispelling a Fira attack which acted like fireworks. Ash realized that this wasn't really a keyblade. Sure, it _looked_ like a keyblade but it behaved more like a keywhip. Even Donald had a double-take to the unreal understanding to it.

"None of Sora's keyblade did that," he squawked. "Maybe the keyblade and wielder are unique to each other." Another flick of the wrist and the keyblade stretched out. The comb prongs dug in the stone of the buildings where Ash swung from, meeting Maleficent in midair.

"Now here's my version of a Vine Whip attack!" Maleficent rose her scepter to block but the keywhip wrapped the scepter to pull away and a clear shot for Ash. In this case, a jaw-wrecking left hook. BAM! Maleficent and Ash went down but Ash landed on his feet, Maleficent on her face. Getting up, Ash pointed the keywhip to the downed woman of darkness. "Perhaps you should stop taking these women." He motioned Eugene to huddle with Rapunzel for safety, which he complied.

"This is humiliating," Maleficent complained. Ash actually felt sorry for that sudden win.

"Tell me about it, keyblades don't normally act like whips, let alone look like hair." The fallen fairy scoffed as he struggled to her feet.

"Indeed, they don't. Once again, underestimation against you has delayed my opportunity. Until the next world..." A plume of smoke, Maleficent vanished. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief from that close encounter. Eugene gazed at the new look of Rapunzel, her freakishly long blond hair now short brunette, rather liking the new appearance.

"That look actually suits you better, Rapunzel," he swooned. Rapunzel was surprised to hear the confession as Eugene inched closer to her.

"Really?" she gasped. "You don't like long hair?" Eugene shook his head.

"It's that I prefer brunettes anyway." Touching. Rapunzel giggled as they glared in each one's eyes. They closed in before they locked lips, a kiss. This was sudden and the horse didn't get in the way. Speaking of which, where's Maximus?

"Eugene, Rapunzel, get to the castle and...inform your parents about what just happened," Ash ordered. Eugene and Rapunzel acknowledged the request. The kingdom trip was completed and Ash and the animals were on their way back to the Gummi Ship. "It still bugs me that this keyblade is more of a whip than a blade." To Goofy, it was still effective with Maleficent.

"Hyuk! But you did give Maleficent a good spanking!" he barked happily. Pikachu thought the keywhip did major damage to Maleficent's pride.

"That keyblade and Rapunzel's old hair are pretty awesome extensions," he squeaked. "Bayleef and Bulbasaur could learn a few lessons from that or another Grass Pokémon." A new way to adopt keyblade moves to his creatures? Not a bad idea. As they got within sight of the Gummi Ship...

"There you are!" squawked someone familiar. All looked toward the voice, eying the pink bird they remembered back in the DigiWorld.

"It's Biyomon!" Ash recognized. This was unusual to see someone like her away from this world. How did Biyomon get here?

"What's going on and how did you get here?" Donald wondered. Ash wasn't thinking about how Biyomon winded around the Kingdom of Corona. If Biyomon was here, the female Sora was here as well. With Pikachu, Ash sprinted ahead. Sure enough, there she was with Gatomon by the Gummi Ship.

"Sora!" The girl peered to the voice, knowing that Ash was nearby.

"Ash!" she cried out. As soon as Ash arrived, Sora's face was of sadness. Ash knew why, he didn't need to ask. Sora wanted to let it out. "Listen, Kari...she's..."

"She told me." Sora was shocked that Ash learned of Kari's disappearance. However, her confession was leave to something bigger.

"We failed to keep an eye on her...and I feel I may have started the whole thing." Ash needed a second to catch his breath after exasperating that news. Gatomon was saddened that Kari was not with her.

"Let's get inside. We're done with this place." When the rest got to the scene, all boarded the Gummi Ship departing to new worlds. Back in space, the journey of Heartless lands proceeded on. In the resting room, Sora sat on the mattress mulling about her losing Kari. Ash came in, tea in each hand, offering one to Sora. "Here." Sora snatched one and sipped it. The drink was warm but she needed a fire to heat her emotional cold.

"Thanks..." Ash sat along Sora for comfort. Hearing Maleficent telling him, Rapunzel and Gothel about capturing Kari and Elizabeth, further expanding her library of princesses that include Vanellope Von Schweetz, Holly and Téa Gardner among others she's picked up before he took up the keyblade, Ash was just as guilty for letting the dark one use his time away to scoop out with those he protected.

"I'm sorry for letting Kari get taken from you. I wish I was there to keep an eye on the issue." Sora shook in disagreement.

"No, you're not to blame." Turning her head, she wanted to say something under her mouth. "I am." It wasn't quiet enough...or maybe she wanted Ash to hear it to draw attention to her. Ash looked to her in some stun.

"What do you mean?" The redhead cringed about the involvement that caused the loss.

"I'm...responsible for losing Kari. Biyomon and I weren't strong enough to face her!" Tinker Bell flew from Ash's hood to get a better look at Sora, sadly wrong gender and not the one she remembered. Ash sympathized with Sora, understanding how Maleficent would overwhelm the Digidestined and take Kari. Tears trickled from her face. "If only Matt was there to help...or Joe...or Mimi..." Ash wrapped his arm around her shoulder as support.

"There's nothing you could have done to stop it. I'm just happy that you and Biyomon are okay to keep fighting." Sora's crying eyes welled more tears. The Digidestined dove in Ash's arms while she cried out. It was an exhausting time for her and the loss of Kari made it worse.

"Ash~!" The hug was much comforting as the door slightly opened was closed back up. Pikachu, Gatomon and Biyomon chose to leave the humans to console.

"It's hard to see Sora get all sad like that," Biyomon beaked. Pikachu and Gatomon believed the pink bird in how hard it was to see her cry. The only solace was Ash being there to console her.

"Knowing how close she is to Ash, it's a good thing that she's in the best hands while we search of Kari and the other princesses," Gatomon mewed as they reached the bridge.

"Right now, all we can do is chase the Heartless away and seal the worlds," Pikachu shrugged as he activated the monitor. There was a world reading a high volume of Heartless action and closing in. The name rang a bell with the mouse. "The Sereitei? That's one of the worlds Merlin advised us about!" The Gummi Ship with new passengers locked a course for the Seiretei. What could wait for the heroes in that world?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(Thanks to the votes on Facebook [and here], Bleach is next on the list. Keep those votes coming for future worlds.)


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